Pentagon caught flat-footed as Trump plan threatens to gut military training

Military experts and Pentagon officials are pushing back at proposals from within Donald Trump’s administration that will cripple their ability to prepare for a possible war with China and other adversarial nations.

According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration's five-year energy leasing plan would allow oil platforms in areas that currently serve as vital military operations zones. Florida's entire 30-member congressional delegation and the Pentagon, along with retired military leaders and armed forces advocacy groups, are scrambling to overhaul the plan before its October finalization.

The U.S. coastline along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean mirrors China's geography — minus the Florida Peninsula — with islands dotting both waters. The region currently functions as an essential training zone, allowing troops to deploy from Virginia toward the Gulf in scenarios similar to how forces would launch from bases in Japan toward potential enemies.

"The region acts as a training zone, allowing troops to deploy from Virginia toward the Gulf, similar to how they would launch from bases in Japan to travel south toward a potential enemy. There are hundreds of open miles for Tomahawk missiles and other weapons to be tested before they are used in combat," the Post reported.

Rick Miller, a retired Navy captain and vice chair of the Florida Defense Alliance, expressed alarm at the administration's proposal, telling the Post, "It's almost strategically backwards. For a modest potential increase in oil production capacity, we'd be giving up a tremendous amount of national defense capability."

The concern spans all military branches, according to the Post. The U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard all use at least one range off California or in the Gulf, with at least two dozen military bases relying on these areas in some capacity.

The critical difference between civilian and military use lies in flexibility. While civilian boats and planes can be directed to steer clear of military operations, permanent oil platforms cannot be moved, forcing military exercises to navigate around them.

Vice Adm. Jody Breckenridge, a retired Coast Guard leader and chair of the California Governor's Military Council, explained the strategic consequences. The California offshore military areas are used for training and weapons testing similar to the Gulf range, with the Space Force using them from Vandenberg base. Unlike Florida, California troops can practice transitioning from water combat into mountain operations.

"These are becoming more and more one of a kind, and we have what we have. Once you give that up you're never going to get it back," Breckenridge said. "And then what does that mean to having a trained and ready military?"