republican presidential candidate ted cruz pledge tuesday boost size u.s. arm force invest new airplanes ship seek push back military-focused south carolina rival criticism defense record cruz speak decommission aircraft carrier mount pleasant south carolina say white house would establish total active-duty force 1.4 million people prioritize construct new ballistic missile submarine invest anti-missile systems think expensive defend nation try defend u.s. senator texas say speech unveil proposal republicans seek party nomination nov. presidential election emphasize defense issue south carolina state home number military base retire veterans hold republican primary saturday cruz take heat rival vote bill limit defense spend push revamp domestic surveillance program also argue scaled-back military involvement overseas say unite state protect interest engage nation-building cruz republican opponents tout plan boost size u.s. military u.s. senator marco rubio florida call army staff 490,000 people compare cruz proposal tuesday 525,000 soldier report emily stephenson edit frances kerry sap sponsor content independently create reuters editorial staff fund part sap otherwise role coverage republican presidential candidate cruz propose military boost