In presenting the state of the Union to the Congress and to the American people, I have a special obligation as Commander in Chief to report on our national defense.  Our survival as a free and independent people requires, above all, strong military forces that are well equipped and highly trained to perform their assigned mission.

I am particularly gratified to report that over the past 2 1/2 years, we have been able to reverse the dangerous decline of the previous decade in real resources this country was devoting to national defense.  This was an immediate problem I faced in 1974.  The evidence was unmistakable that the Soviet Union had been steadily increasing the resources it applied to building its military strength.  During this same period the United States real defense spending declined.  In my three budgets we not only arrested that dangerous decline, but we have established the positive trend which is essential to our ability to contribute to peace and stability in the world.

The Vietnam war, both materially and psychologically, affected our overall defense posture.  The dangerous anti-military sentiment discouraged defense spending and unfairly disparaged the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.

The challenge that now confronts this country is whether we have the national will and determination to continue this essential defense effort over the long term, as it must be continued.  We can no longer afford to oscillate from year to year in so vital a matter; indeed, we have a duty to look beyond the immediate question of budgets and to examine the nature of the problem we will face over the next generation.

I am the first recent President able to address long-term, basic issues without the burden of Vietnam.  The war in Indochina consumed enormous resources at the very time that the overwhelming strategic superiority we once enjoyed was disappearing.  In past years, as a result of decisions by the United States, our strategic forces leveled off, yet the Soviet Union continued a steady, constant buildup of its own forces, committing a high percentage of its national economic effort to defense.

The United States can never tolerate a shift in strategic balance against us or even a situation where the American people or our allies believe the balance is shifting against us.  The United States would risk the most serious political consequences if the world came to believe that our adversaries have a decisive margin of superiority.

To maintain a strategic balance we must look ahead to the 1980’s and beyond.  The sophistication of modern weapons requires that we make decisions now if we are to ensure our security 10 years from now.  Therefore, I have consistently advocated and strongly urged that we pursue three critical strategic programs:  the Trident missile launching submarine; the B-1 bomber, with its superior capability to penetrate modern air defenses; and a more advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that will be better able to survive nuclear attack and deliver a devastating retaliatory strike.