Heavy Losses

A critical examination of the state of the United States military during the early 1980s. Co-written by journalists James Coates and Michael Kilian, the book argues that despite high-profile spending by the Reagan administration, inefficiencies and systemic problems within the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex were eroding the country's defense capabilities. The book contends that waste, mismanagement, and rivalries between the different branches of the armed forces led to a flawed procurement system. This resulted in an arsenal of highly complex and expensive weapons that were not…