Two Cheers for OCO: Grease For Budget Wheels

Two Cheers for OCO: Grease For Budget Wheels
Two Cheers for OCO: Grease For Budget Wheels

The verdict from think tanks and commentators is in: Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), the much-criticized war funding account, should move to the base budget because of abuses and a lack of transparency. As a matter of theory, such a move would be good government. OCO deflects hard choices and distorts the budget process. In the…

Four Service Chiefs Say They Can’t Defend US Under Sequestration

Four Service Chiefs Say They Can’t Defend US Under Sequestration
Four Service Chiefs Say They Can’t Defend US Under Sequestration

WASHINGTON: Today, we got a very clear look at the biggest problem with sequestration for the military. If the Budget Control Act goes into full effect, the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines told the Senate Armed Services Committee today, they will not be able to protect the United States as they are…

The Military’s Real Readiness Crisis; Petraeus & O’Hanlon Are Wrong

The Military’s Real Readiness Crisis; Petraeus & O’Hanlon Are Wrong
The Military’s Real Readiness Crisis; Petraeus & O’Hanlon Are Wrong

It’s no news to Breaking Defense readers that the U.S. military faces a readiness crisis. But retired Gen. David Petraeus apparently disagrees. Yes, the military’s budget has been cut by 25 percent in real terms since 2011—much of it coming from accounts used to maintain and build combat readiness. Yes, leaders from the Army, Navy,…

‘Our Greatest Challenge’: CJCS Gen. Dunford

‘Our Greatest Challenge’: CJCS Gen. Dunford
‘Our Greatest Challenge’: CJCS Gen. Dunford

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford came of age on the battlefields of America’s post-9/11 wars. As a colonel, he led the 5th Marine Regiment during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, earning his nickname of “Fighting Joe” Dunford. Later, he commanded all U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan as commander of the…

China’s J-20 Vs. F-35? Meh, Says CSAF Goldfein; Pilot Crisis Noted

China’s J-20 Vs. F-35? Meh, Says CSAF Goldfein; Pilot Crisis Noted
China’s J-20 Vs. F-35? Meh, Says CSAF Goldfein; Pilot Crisis Noted

PENTAGON: I thought I could hear Air Force and allied F-35 pilots around the world smiling when the new Air Force Chief of Staff said today that comparing the F-35 to the Chinese J-20 “is almost an irrelevant comparison.” The F-35, said Gen. David Goldfein, is “about a family of systems and it’s about a network — that’s what…

BCA Will Hamstring Trump Or Clinton: Only Congress Can Fix It

BCA Will Hamstring Trump Or Clinton: Only Congress Can Fix It
BCA Will Hamstring Trump Or Clinton: Only Congress Can Fix It

WASHINGTON: Whoever wins the White House in November will still be hobbled by the spending limits in the Budget Control Act, warned fiscal expert Todd Harrison. Whether BCA goes away, he said, depends much less on whether Trump or Clinton wins, and much more on who controls Congress — above all on whether Reagan defense…

Five Tough Cyber Questions for Trump And Clinton

Five Tough Cyber Questions for Trump And Clinton
Five Tough Cyber Questions for Trump And Clinton

This presidential primary process has been a huge (or, yuge) disappointment. The most disappointing aspect, perhaps, is the failure of the candidates to address the details of their budgetary and defense strategies, and in particular, the cyber security policies they will pursue as Commander-in-Chief. The party platforms may offer more information about Donald Trump’s and Hillary…

What’s Eating Bill McRaven: Is Congress Too Ignorant Of The Military?

What’s Eating Bill McRaven: Is Congress Too Ignorant Of The Military?
What’s Eating Bill McRaven: Is Congress Too Ignorant Of The Military?

The US military is still at war but Washington is not. The resulting tensions are eroding the fundamental compact between America’s warrior and political classes. The recent op-ed by retired Adm. William McRaven, former head of Special Operations Command and the man who led the strike against Osama Bin Laden, might have caused a national furor…

SASC Likely To Agree To HASC’s $18B Plus-Up

SASC Likely To Agree To HASC’s $18B Plus-Up
SASC Likely To Agree To HASC’s $18B Plus-Up

UPDATED to clarify WASHINGTON: Senate authorizers will probably go along with the House in adding $18 billion to the base defense budget, setting up a veto fight with the White House. After all, it was Senate Armed Services chairman John McCain himself who sponsored the $18 billion plus-up in the Senate, where it was narrowly defeated. Today,…

‘We Need To Hold Our Noses,’ Buy Russian RD-180 Engines: SecDef

‘We Need To Hold Our Noses,’ Buy Russian RD-180 Engines: SecDef
‘We Need To Hold Our Noses,’ Buy Russian RD-180 Engines: SecDef

WASHINGTON: Ash Carter made many reporters’ day this morning when he pithily put the case for the Pentagon to continue buying Russian RD-180 rocket engines until the United States has two tested and reliable launch providers capable of replacing the highly reliable and relatively cheap Atlas V built and operated by the United Launch Alliance. “We…

HASC Markup Debates $18B Fiscal Gimmick; F-35 Stays Intact

HASC Markup Debates $18B Fiscal Gimmick; F-35 Stays Intact
HASC Markup Debates $18B Fiscal Gimmick; F-35 Stays Intact

CAPITOL HILL: Members of Congress clashed today over everything from the F-35 fighter to the Lesser Prairie Chicken. But the most fundamental issue at the House Armed Services Committee’s annual marathon markup of its defense policy bill was simply how to pay for it. Chairman Mac Thornberry defended repurposing $18 billion of Overseas Contingency Operations funds…

Dems May Refuse To Support HASC NDAA: Our Markup Preview

Dems May Refuse To Support HASC NDAA: Our Markup Preview
Dems May Refuse To Support HASC NDAA: Our Markup Preview

WASHINGTON: Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wants to boost funding for readiness and modernization and he’s using a budgeting gimmick in the defense policy bill to do it that is prompting much head shaking. (A similar gimmick led to a short-lived presidential veto last year). Colin’s bet is that, should the Senate…

How DoD Can Manage The Great Bow Wave

How DoD Can Manage The Great Bow Wave
How DoD Can Manage The Great Bow Wave

  Bob Hale knows budgets. He crafted them for the Air Force and he crafted them for the entire Defense Department. America faces a large spending spike by 2025 that grows even larger later. So, how can America manage this spending? Bob presents three approaches he thinks will work. Don’t get too depressed and read…

Congress Must Kill Sequester To Pay For Pacific Pivot: CSIS

Congress Must Kill Sequester To Pay For Pacific Pivot: CSIS
Congress Must Kill Sequester To Pay For Pacific Pivot: CSIS

WASHINGTON: If the United States is serious about “rebalancing” to Asia, it needs to invest some serious cash. Strategic small change won’t deter China or reassure our increasingly anxious allies, says a new report from the influential Center for Strategic & International Studies. And that means the CSIS study’s sponsor — Congress — must get its…