The coming battle in the Pentagon A vociferous bureaucratic battle will occur across the first two years of the next administration, one that will greatly determine our military's future capabilities in this long war against radical extremism. On one side will be pitted the "big war" crowd with its emphasis on "resetting" the force following the inevitable drawdown in Iraq. This is mostly the air-sea crowd from the Air Force and Navy. On the other side will stand—ironically enough—those mostly ground forces from the Army and Marines that are logically slated to benefit maximally from any such "healing period."