From the botched Afghanistan withdrawal to plummeting recruitment levels, the reputation of the U.S. military suffered greatly in recent years, leading many—including our adversaries—to believe that its capabilities were dramatically and irreversible dulled.
This led to a renewed wave of global insecurity with war breaking out in Europe and the Middle East, as dictators launched destabilizing actions against the United States and its partners with impunity.
However, from the skies of Iran to the streets of Caracas, the United States is resoundingly displaying that the American military is as deadly as ever and capable of carrying out tactically flawless operations that reveal not only the hollow power of our adversaries, but its own incomparable excellence.
The first major display came on June 21, 2025, when the Air Force destroyed large segments of the Iranian nuclear weapons program with exceptional tactical precision in Operation Midnight Hammer. During this mission, seven B-2 stealth bombers—an aircraft designed in the 1980s—dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Fordow and Natanz.
All told, roughly 125 aircraft—including air refueling tankers, fourth generation fighters, and fifth generation F-22 and F-35 fighters—participated in the attack.
While Midnight Hammer significantly impacted the Iranian nuclear program, likely setting back their ambitions by a significant period, what is most striking about the 37-hour operation was its tactical flawlessness.
Not a single American aircraft was destroyed. The bombers flew uninterrupted for over a day and a half. The enemy had no tactical warning that the attack was coming. All the targets intended to be hit were successfully serviced.
By deploying an aged stealth bomber—a capability no other nation has and one that will be soon replaced by the next generation B-21 bomber—the United States demonstrated it can service any target, anywhere on earth, using stealth technology that can evade ostensibly effective Russian air defenses.
On Jan. 3, 2026, the United States executed Operation Absolute Resolve, in which American special operations forces seized and arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro.
During this mission, over 150 aircraft, including attack and personnel helicopters, B-1 bombers, fourth generation electronic warfare platforms, and fifth generation fighters coordinated their actions from multiple bases and ships off the coast of Venezuela to carry out the operation.
Further, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said, “the United States began layering different effects provided by SpaceCom, CyberCom, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway.”
As President Trump elaborated, “The lights of Caracas were largely turned off, due to a certain expertise that we have.”
Within minutes of the operation’s launch, the U.S. military disabled Venezuela’s much touted anti-air systems, provided to Caracas by China and Russia.
American special forces landed in Caracas, seized Maduro and his wife, killed over 30 Cuban bodyguards, and extricated Maduro without the loss of a single American or aircraft.
Working in coordination, American attack helicopters, bombers, special forces operators, stealth fighters, and cyber warriors executed what was perhaps the tactically flawless special operation since the 2011 killing of Osama Bin Laden.
In the past seven months then, the United States has shown not only that it can perform tactically and operationally flawlessly by integrating advanced stealth capabilities, space and cyber operations, and special operators working hundreds or even thousands of miles from the nearest American base—but that it can do so on a level that no other nation can approach.
Russia tried to arrest Ukrainian President Zelensky in the opening hours of its invasion of Ukraine by launching a botched helicopter born air assault at Kyiv’s airport. Since then, Russia has repeatedly tried—and failed—to assassinate Zelensky.
China retains an incredibly capable and modern military—on paper. But China hasn’t conducted a military operation since 1979.
As evidenced in 2025 when a Chinese naval vessel collided with a Chinese Coast Guard ship while they were both harassing a Filipino vessel operating in international waters, capability and modern forces does not necessarily equal excellence in operation.
Following the debacle of and chaos of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, many experts suggested that America was declining as a military power—and some even suggested that the U.S. military was a “strategic failure.”
The last seven months have shown, however, that the American military, at the operational and tactical level, can perform jaw-droppingly impressive actions that no other military can approach.
What does this mean for America’s adversaries?
Without question, dictators in Havana, Pyongyang, and potentially Iran are wondering if they might meet the same fate as Maduro.
Nuclear aspirants may in the future wonder if their efforts to secure the “bomb” may be ended by future raids, using ever more advanced technologies and equipment. And military “superpowers” including Russia and China almost certainly will reexamine their assumptions about the utility of their own military capabilities before agreeing to engage in military operations against the United States or an American ally.
For these reasons, the United States should not be dismissive of the strategic implications of tactical flawlessness beyond any individual operation itself.
Destroying Iranian nuclear capabilities and deposing Latin American dictators are good things—but far more important messages are being sent at the same time.
