They hailed from near Detroit; a loud and boisterous cast of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Staunch union Democrats all, mom’s clan was tied to the auto industry since my grandfather, an Arkansas hillbilly, moved to Detroit during the Depression. He was the first of four generations of Detroit autoworkers. 

Their life in Michigan was a stark contrast to our lives on a military base. My dad often worked 12 to 18 hours a day in a busy control tower, while my aunts and uncles seemed to have time on their hands. My dad deployed overseas, often a year at a time, and never complained. At the summer get-togethers my aunts and uncles sat around drinking beer and griped about the lousy pay and hours on the assembly line. Our family drove a used car and made do, while my Michigan relatives were never quite satisfied with their employee discounted new cars. As a child I couldn’t understand why they weren’t happy with what they had. Looking back as an adult I know why.

They saw a good paying union job not as a privilege, but an entitlement. The auto industry was a fact of life; an eternal and unmoving colossus. Through them I learned hubris isn’t the sole domain of the white collar worker. That hubris blinded workers and management alike as the seeds were being planted for Detroit’s eventual undoing.  

At one Fourth of July reunion I remember my uncle scoffing at a little Toyota as it puttered by amongst giant Oldsmobiles and Buicks. He cursed the little car. “Rice burner” he laughed and took another swig of Pabst Blue Ribbon. How dare this little car challenge America’s auto industry, the symbol of her might! My dad, just back from Vietnam, remained silent. I think, deep down, he knew the world had already changed.

Detroit didn’t change, and that’s why it died. They wouldn’t, or couldn’t, change their labor practices in the face of the global marketplace. They didn’t heed the warnings of half a dozen energy shocks since 1972 and produce energy efficient cars. Now, the Big Three automakers teeter on the brink of extinction, their good paying union jobs are almost gone, and Detroit is only a shell of the great city it once was.  There is no hubris left in Michigan, only fear. America’s indigenous auto industry will most likely pass into history before our eyes.

Two years ago I worked at a military logistics hub in middle Georgia. The base is a massive installation and the biggest employer in the state. Only a handful of the roughly 25,000 people working there actually wear a military uniform, the rest are government civilians and contractors.  It is a one industry town. I’ve seen many towns like it, survivors of numerous base realignment and closing (BRAC) rounds over the past 15 years. These fortunate military installations, through fate or strong congressional representation, grew and became economic lynchpins for the local communities.

On a humid evening several summers ago in that Middle Georgia town I sat in the bleachers watching my kid’s little league game. I was surrounded by families who depended solely on the defense industry for their livelihoods. The latest BRAC was the topic of conversation. These parents were third and fourth generation employees at the base. In their idle talk I heard the same assumptions, “…the base would always be here,” and “…I can always get a job on base if I can’t make it anywhere else,” and “…our congressman won’t let them close this base, it’s too important.” In them I saw traces of the same hubris my uncles and aunts exhibited all those years ago. The military depot and        it’s good paying government job wasn’t a privilege, it was an entitlement. These people saw the base as a fact of life, an unmoving colossus which would be there forever.

I didn’t know it then, but I believe I was witnessing the rise of a new General Motors - the US Defense Department.

These good people from Georgia were employed by a monolithic industry at the peak of its power, but not changing with the times. The parents in the stands watching their kid's play ball repaired the same aircraft their grandfathers originally built. Other than the Chinese-made computers atop their cubicle desks, little had changed at this base since Reagan was president. And little would change.

Like the Big Three automakers, defense has been inefficient for years. Massive government unions hold sway, ensuring change comes slowly, if at all. Instead of pumping money into new weapon systems, billions are being spent maintaining the status quo. And the status quo works just fine until the rules change. The rules changed quickly and mercilessly for Detroit. The same is happening to the defense establishment. 

First, federal social spending and national debt are beginning to starve the military of the resources it needs to carry out its missions and trillions in bailouts are accelerating the process. Second, the Pentagon’s bloated bureaucracy isn’t helping as it robs the services of the nimbleness they need to adapt and change. This fact has had its most devastating impact on weapons acquisition. Third, the Pentagon’s reliance on contractors puts it at the mercy of many who don’t have America’s best interests at heart. Fourth, congress’s political machinations exacerbate the damage inflicted by all the other factors. And like Japanese car companies of the 1970s, our military competitors see us sowing the seeds of our own demise and are working to accelerate the process. They know our military is the last symbol of America’s remaining might.