Steve Savicki
04-17-2007, 05:36 PM
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,132613,00.html
The Army announced Monday it would begin to cut spending for non-war related expenses - including spare parts, travel and construction - due to funding shortfalls for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The cuts come as Congress continues to debate a 2007 wartime funding bill and an April 15 deadline passes that Pentagon officials claimed would force them to divert money to pay for ongoing wartime needs.
With the Fiscal Year 2007 emergency supplemental for funding operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and requirements associated with the Global War on Terror, still under congressional review, the Army will slow spending and the Department of Defense will move funds from other accounts to the Army,� the Army said in a prepared statement. �Priority will be given to repair and refurbishment of immediately-needed warfighting equipment, while training and other non-mission critical equipment repair will be deferred.
The Pentagon sent a nearly $100 billion war supplemental funding request to Congress early this year, later adding money for the �surge� of troops which began in February.
Lawmakers then inserted withdrawal timelines, progress benchmarks, and deployment restrictions to the funding bill but have yet to send a final version to the White House. Administration officials had repeatedly said that if a spending bill wasn�t approved by April 15, money for the war would begin to dry up.
If the funding delay goes beyond May 15, officials say training cuts for troops headed to Iraq could force planners to keep units already in Iraq deployed longer than anticipated.
We have explained to Congress the steps we would have to take based on dates on the calendar,� said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Pete Pace at an April 17 breakfast meeting with reporters. �If the monies were not in their hands by 15 May, then the Army would have to start considering � the tour lengths of units because you may not have all you need at home to be able to properly train the units to be deployed.
Some of the money for the training of the brigades that are due to go would start to be impacted around May, Pace added.
The Army said Pentagon officials have asked Congress to authorize the diversion of $1.6 billion in Navy and Air Force pay to help fund the wartime shortfalls.
The cuts announced Monday include slowing down the purchase of repair parts for gear, slashing day-to-day supply purchases, restricting non-essential travel, and ending the �shipment of equipment and supplies � unless needed immediately for war efforts.� The service will also curtail �repair of facilities and environmental programs unless the work is for safety or health reasons or impacts on family support.
If a wartime spending bill still isn�t signed into law by May, Army officials say they�ll have to fire temporary civilian employees, defer contracts and purchase orders, and cut training events.
Service officials said cuts to other Army programs and budgets could pay for wartime operations only through June. But after that the service would be in greater jeopardy.
These actions carry consequential effects, including substantial disruption to installation functions, decreasing efficiency and potentially further degrading the readiness of non-deployed units, the Army said.
http://www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2007/04/16/2698-funding-needs-prompt-army-spending-constraints/
So what do you do when military service vehicles break down?
The Army announced Monday it would begin to cut spending for non-war related expenses - including spare parts, travel and construction - due to funding shortfalls for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The cuts come as Congress continues to debate a 2007 wartime funding bill and an April 15 deadline passes that Pentagon officials claimed would force them to divert money to pay for ongoing wartime needs.
With the Fiscal Year 2007 emergency supplemental for funding operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and requirements associated with the Global War on Terror, still under congressional review, the Army will slow spending and the Department of Defense will move funds from other accounts to the Army,� the Army said in a prepared statement. �Priority will be given to repair and refurbishment of immediately-needed warfighting equipment, while training and other non-mission critical equipment repair will be deferred.
The Pentagon sent a nearly $100 billion war supplemental funding request to Congress early this year, later adding money for the �surge� of troops which began in February.
Lawmakers then inserted withdrawal timelines, progress benchmarks, and deployment restrictions to the funding bill but have yet to send a final version to the White House. Administration officials had repeatedly said that if a spending bill wasn�t approved by April 15, money for the war would begin to dry up.
If the funding delay goes beyond May 15, officials say training cuts for troops headed to Iraq could force planners to keep units already in Iraq deployed longer than anticipated.
We have explained to Congress the steps we would have to take based on dates on the calendar,� said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Pete Pace at an April 17 breakfast meeting with reporters. �If the monies were not in their hands by 15 May, then the Army would have to start considering � the tour lengths of units because you may not have all you need at home to be able to properly train the units to be deployed.
Some of the money for the training of the brigades that are due to go would start to be impacted around May, Pace added.
The Army said Pentagon officials have asked Congress to authorize the diversion of $1.6 billion in Navy and Air Force pay to help fund the wartime shortfalls.
The cuts announced Monday include slowing down the purchase of repair parts for gear, slashing day-to-day supply purchases, restricting non-essential travel, and ending the �shipment of equipment and supplies � unless needed immediately for war efforts.� The service will also curtail �repair of facilities and environmental programs unless the work is for safety or health reasons or impacts on family support.
If a wartime spending bill still isn�t signed into law by May, Army officials say they�ll have to fire temporary civilian employees, defer contracts and purchase orders, and cut training events.
Service officials said cuts to other Army programs and budgets could pay for wartime operations only through June. But after that the service would be in greater jeopardy.
These actions carry consequential effects, including substantial disruption to installation functions, decreasing efficiency and potentially further degrading the readiness of non-deployed units, the Army said.
http://www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2007/04/16/2698-funding-needs-prompt-army-spending-constraints/
So what do you do when military service vehicles break down?