My concern is that America will become a sprawling no man’s land as the economy contracts to 20 percent of its present size. Rapid collapse is unpredictable and seems like a bad idea for a country with such a huge military presence.
Rapid collapse is indeed unpredictable, and always bad; but the military is heavily dependent on the economy, so it starting huge probably won't make a huge difference.
Especially if the US happens to do the collapsing at around the same time the rest of the globe moves away from oil etc., given how dependent the existing military equipment stockpiles are on petrochemicals.
