The Army Has It Worst 2.0: Readiness Shortchanged $13.7 Billion

[unhappycamper]

http://defense.aol.com/2013/04/10/army-sequester-war-funding-readiness-13.7-billion/



The Army Has It Worst 2.0: Readiness Shortchanged $13.7 Billion
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Published: April 10, 2013

PENTAGON: "Army Has Biggest Problem." That's it. Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale's official briefing slides for today's big budget roll-out couldn't be blunter. Hale has made this point before, but in case anyone imagined Congress rescued the Army when it passed a belated 2013 spending bill last month, the budget presentation today made clear the biggest service is still deepest in the hole -- specifically, about $13.7 billion deep.

In late February, Army budgeteers were talking about an $18 billion shortfall in readiness funding for '13 that they nicknamed "6-6-6": a $6 billion cut from sequestration, another $6 billion hit from higher than projected costs for the war in Afghanistan, and a final $6 billion problem from money the Army had but couldn't spend because of the curious strictures of the Continuing Resolution then funding the federal government.

The spending bill Congress passed late last month got rid of the "CR" six -- the $6 billion the Army had but couldn't spend. The other two sixes, though, are not only still with us, one of them has actually grown.

The sequester's $6 billion blow to readiness remains as it was. (Strictly speaking, it's $4.6 billion from sequestration proper and $1.3 billion imposed by the appropriations bill). The service is still "working through (that) and determining where we will take our reductions," the Army's budget director, Maj. Gen. Karen Dyson, told reporters this afternoon. Significant cutbacks in combat training have already begun.

[Aristus]

1. Reports like this can be misleading.

The crux of the argument is what exactly constitutes 'readiness'. Readiness in this case may mean the ability to join a World War II-sized conflict within a few days. Or a Gulf War-sized conflict within just a few hours. There are thousands of variables, not the least of which is the possibility that money better spent on troop readiness is instead being spent on essentially useless, but hideously expensive weapons systems like the F-35 air superiority fighter. Or demonstrably dangerous aircraft like the Osprey.

I'm willing to reserve judgment, since I don't know the fine details of what 'readiness' is supposed to mean. But this problem is not due to lack of funding for the DoD.