Wanna Buy a Battleship? Spaceship?

Defense suppliers advertise
Their job’s to plan, to build, to arm,
Especially the gals and guys
Who fight to keep us free from harm.

You’d think they’d worry most of needs
In Iraq and Afghanistan
To shield our troops from IEDs,
Those roadside bombs that fry a man.

Or lighter gear that’s bulletproof
To strengthen odds in fire fights.
These don’t send budgets through the roof,
And help more in our modern plights.

Instead some finance congressmen
To think of past or future wars
And pricey stuff to buy again
Or things the DOD ignores.

Like billions’ worth of extra planes
Or White House choppers no one wants.
What’s key, the Pentagon explains,
Is gear more basic, for the nonce.

Like that to fight insurgencies,
In lonely posts or on patrols,
Not to please constituencies
With jobs and campaign funds as goals.

One tip-off of a patriot
Must be what’s closer to the heart:
Our GIs’ lives today and not
If long-term profits play a part.