[twoodfin]

The constitutional specifically prohibits a standing army

No, it doesn't:

The Congress shall have Power ... To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

As long as Congress keeps appropriating money for it, we can have a standing army.

[jMyles]

That's not a "standing" army - that's the whole point. The debate raged back and forth at the CC on this point with everyone ultimately agreeing that this two-year limitation was something short of a "standing" army.