By Justin Brill

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Our colleague Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig has spotted a trend that he believes every American needs to be aware of...

The sharp decline in U.S. military spending.

If you're like most folks, this comes as a surprise. After all, for years we've heard about the billions of dollars spent on various defense projects, and how the U.S. spends more on its military than any other country.

Doc says the reality isn't so simple. As he explained in a new special report for his Retirement Millionaire subscribers...

If you think, like most Americans do, that we've got an insurmountable military advantage, you're in for a shocking revelation.

National defense has declined sharply since 2010.

As Doc explained, this decline is a result of both Obama-era decisions to slow military spending, along with "sequestration" cuts forced by the Republican-led Congress following arguments about the debt ceiling. But he says even those figures don't tell the whole story...

As a percentage of the economy, our spending is at its lowest point in more than 70 years.

And the number of military personnel hasn't been this low since the troops came back from WWII.

Meanwhile, Doc noted that the potential threats the military faces are changing again...

For decades, an army was an army: Troops, guns, ships, and planes. Whomever you fought, you'd send the same men, vehicles, and artillery to destroy the enemy. The biggest change between our Vietnam forces and the First Gulf War was the change from jungle to desert camouflage.

That's changed. It started after the 9/11 attacks. In Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. troops didn't fight large armies. Rather, they fought small insurgent forces embedded deep in cities among civilians.

We still had military superiority, but all our bombers and aircraft carriers offered no advantage. This was a different war. We needed small, highly trained forces with lots of intel. And we needed special outreach programs to win the "hearts and minds" of the local populations, as they say.

In other words, fighting China or fighting Al-Qaeda required different training, different hierarchy, different weapons, and different technology. The military largely shifted focus, building itself around the new threats of terrorism.

Today, those threats remain. But the "superpowers" have now returned. Countries like Russia, China, and North Korea increasingly represent a threat. And Doc noted that our "insurgent focused" military simply isn't prepared to deal with them...

If you compare our 1.3 million active duty troops with China's 2.8 million or even Russia's 1.5 million, our dominance doesn't look so assured. In fact, there's a term for our current status: The 1.5 Standard.

After the Cold War, the U.S. military adopted a standard that it should be prepared to handle two "major regional contingency" military situations. In other words, the military should be able to handle at least two large engagements at any time to prevent an adversary from taking advantage of one war to start another.

That level of protection is gone. By 2012, the standard had changed. Now the goal is to handle one conflict, while still being able to "impose unacceptable costs" on another... or the 1.5 Standard.

I don't like the sound of that. And these are really only plans for small, regional conflicts. Independent analysis has determined that the U.S. could not deter a Russian assault on a Baltic nation. And if China wanted to capture Taiwan today, it could completely dominate the South China Sea.

To Doc, all this adds up to one big certainty...

U.S. military spending will rise significantly in the coming years.

You see, while most folks aren't aware of these problems, those at the top levels of the military are... And they're determined to fix them. More from Doc...

The military brass is pushing back. The Department of Defense's budget request for 2018 included a $52 billion increase in the budget – an increase of nearly 10%. It's fully backed by Trump.

Senator John McCain has proposed a spending increase of $50 billion per year, taking on 8,000 new troops, 59 new navy ships, and 93 more F-35 fighter jets.

We think that's the low estimate. Even a shift to average levels of 4.5% to 5% of GDP spending would be an increase of $90 billion to $200 billion per year.

Now, don't take this as an endorsement of war...

We certainly hope the U.S. avoids a major new conflict. And longtime readers know we aren't fans of unnecessary government spending.

But as Doc noted, even if the government chooses to take a smaller role on the "world stage," better technology is needed to keep pace with China and other growing powers.

Either way, more spending is virtually guaranteed. And a handful of companies will be the biggest beneficiaries...

With the defense industry so consolidated, those billions flow very quickly into the pockets of a small group of companies and their shareholders. Even big, established businesses can get pushed very quickly by waves of cash that big – even though it's a minor increase from the government's perspective.

Doc's special report details his five favorite stocks to profit from this trend...

As you'd expect from Doc, they're all high-quality companies that treat their shareholders well. These stocks should continue to do well even if spending doesn't rise as expected. But if Doc is right, they could absolutely soar over the next few years. And should a new conflict break out, the sky is truly the limit.

In short, buying these stocks is as close to a "no lose" proposition as you'll likely find in the markets today.

Of course, if you're familiar with Doc's Retirement Millionaire advisory, you know it's about much more than building your wealth. It's also about protecting the health and well-being of those you love.

That's why folks who agree to try Retirement Millionaire today won't just get his special report on the best ways to profit from this trend...

You'll also get Doc's no-nonsense book on preparedness, called The Doctor's Protocol Field Manual. Unlike any other book we've seen on the subject, Doc's is based on facts, science, and real medicine, rather than hype.

Doc has also partnered with renowned geopolitical expert Richard Maybury to show you exactly how to prepare for the growing risks of war and global conflict. You'll get Richard's new research report – "How to Survive and Flourish During America's Next Episode of Great Wealth Destruction" – and one full year of his must-read U.S. & World Early Warning Report.

Best of all, for a limited time, you can get it all for less than the usual cost of a Retirement Millionaire subscription. And as always, it comes with Doc's 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee.

If you're not already reading Retirement Millionaire, there has never been a better time to give it a try. Click here to sign up now.

Regards,

Justin Brill

Editor's note: Doc recently put together a report that details his top five defense investments today. As a DailyWealth reader, you can get instant access to these recommendations... a copy of Doc's book, The Doctor's Protocol Field Manual... all his research for one year... and more for just $99 (a savings of nearly $300). Get all the details right here.

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