Can one armed Branch bring down a monster in one or two turns?

I don't know if you're missing something, but here's a few things to consider.

The Air Force player can often put a strong monster in Hollywood in a single turn...just keep those fighters out of harm's way until they're all built. 6 or 7 of them can really ruin a monster's day.

Ground forces can be more effective on defense if several players agree to commit a couple of guys to the "joint defense" of a major place like NYC. That way an attacking monster has to deal with a hefty stack, and may lose as many hit points as he hopes to gain. Also, this is the only effective way to use those National Guard guys.

Certain combinations of monsters and armed forces are particularly deadly. Two such combos that have worked well are the Air Force/Glow Worm, and Army/Tomangi (without the Army, it's hard to stop Tomangi from eating New York right away.)

Anyway, this is no game to play when sober! Have everybody read their monster's description before the game starts and practice the noises. We rule that no location can be ravaged unless the appropriate noise is made.