{"id":7379,"date":"2026-07-27T18:36:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379"},"modified":"2026-07-27T18:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:36:53","slug":"why-warnings-about-the-us-munitions-stockpile-look-increasingly-pivotal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379","title":{"rendered":"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n Just days before the Iran war began, the United States\u2019 top military official, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, expressed misgivings.\n <\/p>

Read more James Comey asks judge to drop case over \u201886 47\u2019 seashell post<\/a><\/p>\n

\n One of Caine\u2019s biggest concerns? How war with Iran could further deplete munitions stockpiles that had already been reduced by helping Ukraine and Israel in their wars in recent years, The Washington Post and CNN reported.\n <\/p>\n

\n That warning is looking increasingly prescient and pivotal, as the Trump administration struggles to wind down a war that has lasted much longer than it previewed.\n <\/p>\n

\n But the administration is struggling to reconcile exactly where things stand on the all-important issue of munitions.\n <\/p>\n

\n On the one hand, it has claimed the US has more than enough munitions \u2014 even that Trump has vastly increased<\/em> the munitions and that the number is \u201cunlimited.\u201d On the other, it has blamed the Biden administration for depleting the stockpiles and asked for a ton of money to help replenish them, while warning about shortfalls if Congress fails to provide it.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re in very good shape,\u201d Trump said Monday. \u201cBut for some of the more sophisticated stuff, we\u2019d certainly like to have more. (Former President Joe) Biden gave a lot of it away.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The president claimed his predecessor had given away \u201cnumbers that nobody\u2019s ever seen before.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz\u2019s interview on NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on Sunday was also a case in point for the administration\u2019s confusing messaging.\n <\/p>\n

\n When asked about reporting from CNN and others that Caine had again raised concerns about the stockpile in recent days \u2014 shortly before the US paused its strikes on Iran on Friday \u2014 Waltz, like Trump, blamed the Biden administration.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201c(Defense) Secretary (Pete) Hegseth inherited a depleted situation from not only Ukraine, but also the ongoing fight with the Houthis under the Biden administration, and a depleted military under the Biden administration,\u201d Waltz said.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n
\n
\"US<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nUS Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz appears on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Shannon Finney\/NBC\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n But when pressed by NBC\u2019s Kristen Welker on whether he was admitting the stockpiles were indeed depleted, Waltz claimed he wasn\u2019t.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNo, I want to be crystal clear: The US military \u2014 and I\u2019ve verified this every which way \u2014 has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Waltz\u2019s comment walks a fine line.\n <\/p>\n

\n As CNN has reported, the risk with the munitions stockpile isn\u2019t so much that the United States won\u2019t have enough to finish prosecuting the Iran war; it\u2019s in how much the war might deplete the stockpile for future wars<\/em> the United States might feel compelled to get involved in.\n <\/p>\n

\n That includes exigencies like if China were to invade Taiwan. A depleted US stockpile could even embolden China to do something it might not otherwise attempt.\n <\/p>\n

\n The administration\u2019s confusing comments about munitions date to the earliest days of the conflict with Iran.\n <\/p>\n

\n After multiple reports about such concerns around the time the war started, the administration dismissed the issue out of hand.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe have massive amounts of ammunition,\u201d Trump said on March 4.\n <\/p>\n

\n Hegseth added March 5 that there was \u201cno shortage of munitions\u201d and that \u201cour munitions are full up.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more McConnell not yet medically cleared to leave rehab facility after fall led to hospitalization<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe have tremendous amounts of ammunition,\u201d Trump said March 26, adding that \u201cwe\u2019re packed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But even in his March 4 comments, the president also seemed to suggest \u2014 as he did Monday \u2014 that certain types of munitions could be an issue.\n <\/p>\n

\n While he said the United States had \u201cunlimited middle and upper ammunition,\u201d he cast the \u201chigh end\u201d munitions slightly differently. There, he said, \u201cwe gave away a lot of high end, but we have plenty.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n By April 21, CNN reported that classified Pentagon data aligned with a Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis showing sharp declines in some of those \u201chigh end\u201d munitions. The analysis said the administration had used at least 45% of its Precision Strike Missiles, at least half of its THAAD missiles, almost 50% of its Patriot air defense interceptor missiles and about 30% of its Tomahawk land-attack missiles.\n <\/p>\n

\n By April 30, Hegseth at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing seemed to confirm it would take \u201cmonths and years\u201d to replenish certain types of munitions (before trying to emphasize the \u201cmonths\u201d rather than \u201cyears\u201d).\n <\/p>\n

\n At a House hearing May 12, Hegseth said the munitions issue had been \u201cfoolishly and unhelpfully overstated\u201d in the media, saying, \u201cWe have plenty of what we need.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But Caine was more circumspect at the same hearing. He merely said that the military had \u201csufficient munitions for what we\u2019re tasked to do right now\u201d \u2014 with the phrase \u201cright now\u201d potentially looming large.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n
\n
\"Chairman<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrive for a Senate hearing on May 12.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Jim Watson\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n By June, Hegseth told CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d that \u201cour stockpiles are great, and they\u2019re only getting stronger\u201d \u2014 despite having said less than two months earlier that it would take months or years to replenish them.\n <\/p>\n

\n But then, while asking Congress for more money at a Senate hearing last week, Hegseth said that without the money, \u201cwe face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to \u2026 rapidly replenish equipment and munitions.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n At the same hearing, Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins in her opening statement twice cited \u201cshortfalls\u201d in munitions and said they had been \u201cknown to this committee for some time.\u201d Hegseth did not correct the Maine Republican.\n <\/p>\n

\n The munitions issue is undoubtedly a difficult one.\n <\/p>\n

\n On the one hand, it\u2019s potentially alarming if the administration is significantly depleting important types of high-end munitions \u2014 especially by continuing to use them in an unpopular war that doesn\u2019t seem to be nearing an end.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s a bit like throwing good money after bad. And replacing those munitions, as Hegseth acknowledged at one point, isn\u2019t just a matter of money; it\u2019s also a matter of the time it takes to produce them.\n <\/p>\n

\n That raises the prospect that the Iran war hasn\u2019t just been a lost cause, but also that it has potentially harmed national security and the United States\u2019 ability to deter nefarious foreign actors in the near-term future.\n <\/p>\n

\n On the other hand, if the munitions are being significantly depleted, it\u2019s not particularly helpful to the US for those foreign actors to know that.\n <\/p>\n

\n Whatever the true state of the munitions stockpile, it\u2019s a sleeping giant of an issue for the Trump administration.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s one that not only looms large over how long the administration can continue the Iran war. But it could also linger over American foreign policy whenever the war concludes.\n <\/p>

Read more Millions more Americans may now be eligible for statins. What the new cholesterol guidelines mean<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The warnings from the earliest days of the Iran war look increasingly prescient as the Trump administration struggles to wind down a conflict that has lasted much longer than it previewed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The warnings from the earliest days of the Iran war look increasingly prescient as the Trump administration struggles to wind down a conflict that has lasted much longer than it previewed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-27T18:36:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2eb1fd5a9722666f10be0140c49d635b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"819\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T18:36:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379\"},\"wordCount\":1170,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379\",\"name\":\"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal - Relocation Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T18:36:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7379#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal - Relocation Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal - Relocation Times","og_description":"The warnings from the earliest days of the Iran war look increasingly prescient as the Trump administration struggles to wind down a conflict that has lasted much longer than it previewed.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379","og_site_name":"Relocation Times","article_published_time":"2026-07-27T18:36:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":819,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2eb1fd5a9722666f10be0140c49d635b.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"headline":"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal","datePublished":"2026-07-27T18:36:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379"},"wordCount":1170,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379","name":"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal - Relocation Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-27T18:36:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1ff0fc85ea00aa28175e9a8f15a3e57.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7379#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why warnings about the US munitions stockpile look increasingly pivotal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/","name":"Relocation Times","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationtimess.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}