Reform the budget process to strengthen US global leadership: RAND

Reform the budget process to strengthen US global leadership: RAND
Reform the budget process to strengthen US global leadership: RAND

Budget dysfunction in DC can disrupt Pentagon programs and leave allies hanging. The US needs to reform its budgeting process to support its leadership role, two RAND scholars argue.

Trump’s Claim Of $2.5 Trillion In DoD Dough: Not True

Trump’s Claim Of $2.5 Trillion In DoD Dough: Not True
Trump’s Claim Of $2.5 Trillion In DoD Dough: Not True

If you count next year’s budget, the president will be actually selling himself short. But his other superlatives are not justified.

Esper Confirmed As SecDef; Budget Deal Leaves DoD Spending Flat Next Year

Esper Confirmed As SecDef; Budget Deal Leaves DoD Spending Flat Next Year
Esper Confirmed As SecDef; Budget Deal Leaves DoD Spending Flat Next Year

With a two-year budget deal the Pentagon is getting what it wanted: budget certainty. But that certainty comes at a cost.

Budget Battle Could Delay Carrier Refueling, Limit Deployments

Budget Battle Could Delay Carrier Refueling, Limit Deployments
Budget Battle Could Delay Carrier Refueling, Limit Deployments

If Congress fails to pass the 2020 budget, the Navy will have to delay necessary repairs on two nuclear-powered carriers, further stretching the fleet at a critical time.

Budget 2020: A CR, Sequestration And Some Compromises?

Budget 2020: A CR, Sequestration And Some Compromises?
Budget 2020: A CR, Sequestration And Some Compromises?

The White House defense budget for 2020 falls short of commitments made and actual requirements to meet the military’s strategy, but it begins to shift priorities and start the long process of investing in long-term competition with China and Russia. Washington still lacks the budget details for another week, but here are some initial reflections…

Dems Will Fight White House’s $174B Add To Pentagon’s OCO Emergency Fund

Dems Will Fight White House’s $174B Add To Pentagon’s OCO Emergency Fund
Dems Will Fight White House’s $174B Add To Pentagon’s OCO Emergency Fund

Two top Democrats blasted the proposal, calling it a “blatant attempt to make a mockery of the federal budget process.”

President Trump, Do NOT Cut The Defense Budget: Inhofe & Thornberry

President Trump, Do NOT Cut The Defense Budget: Inhofe & Thornberry
President Trump, Do NOT Cut The Defense Budget: Inhofe & Thornberry

Republicans Sen. James Inhofe and Rep. Mac Thornberry say to the White House and to the congressional budget hawks: Yes, budget deficits matter, but defense matters more — because of the degradation in readiness and lack of modernization the armed forces have suffered for more than a decade.

Space Force: Go Slow, Learn From Army Air Corps

Space Force: Go Slow, Learn From Army Air Corps
Space Force: Go Slow, Learn From Army Air Corps

The stakes are high for President Trump’s nascent Space Force because a poorly integrated service is a price America cannot afford to pay. This means a careful, thoughtful, conditions-based approach must be followed to assess if and when an autonomous military space organization will provide the best path forward. All four services will contribute to…

Pentagon Ramps Up Civilian Hiring; Other Agencies Get Cut

Pentagon Ramps Up Civilian Hiring; Other Agencies Get Cut
Pentagon Ramps Up Civilian Hiring; Other Agencies Get Cut

Given the two-year break from sequestration, the Pentagon is hurrying up to hire civilians to push the modernization of the force to head off advances by China and Russia, a new DoD strategy document says.

Navy Looks Outside Budget To Help Build New Boomers

Navy Looks Outside Budget To Help Build New Boomers
Navy Looks Outside Budget To Help Build New Boomers

The Navy is moving ahead with its Ohio replacement submarines, and is using a little-noticed budgetary gimmick to pay for some of it.

Army Secretary: We Will Kill Programs To Fund Big Six

Army Secretary: We Will Kill Programs To Fund Big Six
Army Secretary: We Will Kill Programs To Fund Big Six

“You fix your roof when it’s sunny out, and right now it appears to be sunny for the next couple of years,” Esper said. “We have to do our best now to find those dollars so we can, again, apply them back to our priorities.”

Congress, Give The Air Force A 70th Birthday Present — A Budget!

Congress, Give The Air Force A 70th Birthday Present — A Budget!
Congress, Give The Air Force A 70th Birthday Present — A Budget!

No American military service has fought longer than the Air Force. They pretty much have been at war since Kosovo. They are beginning to grind down. Breaking D readers are familiar with many of their problems — too few pilots, really old planes and too little time in the air. The head of the Air…

Dunford Says White House Nixes Refueling For New Air Force One

Dunford Says White House Nixes Refueling For New Air Force One
Dunford Says White House Nixes Refueling For New Air Force One

WASHINGTON: Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that the White House had decided not to include aerial refueling as a capability for the next Air Force One fleet. Why? To save money. President Donald Trump has apparently made the decision, reflected by this decision and the…

Congress, Navy Share Blame For Fatal Collisions At Sea

Congress, Navy Share Blame For Fatal Collisions At Sea
Congress, Navy Share Blame For Fatal Collisions At Sea

CAPITOL HILL: Congress’s repeated budget malpractice and the Navy’s flawed policies combined to cause the accidents that killed 17 sailors, the Navy and the GAO say. Legislative dysfunction means budget cuts, caps, and delays have chronically shortchanged training and maintenance across the fleet, forcing sailors to work 100-plus hours a week to try to catch…