U.S. Defense Secretary Gates Announces Cuts to Military Spending

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled plans to slash 78 billion dollars from the defense budget over the next five years, marking a significant effort to rein in military spending. The cuts will be achieved through a combination of reducing ground forces, increasing healthcare premiums for troops, and implementing cost-saving measures. Gates emphasized the need to eliminate wasteful and excessive spending, stating that every defense dollar must count. The military services were instructed to identify at least 100 billion in savings, with the goal of shifting these funds to higher priority programs.

Key Takeaways:

• The U.S. army's permanent strength will decline by 27,000 troops, while the Marine Corps will decline by 15,000-20,000 troops, depending on the outcome of their force structure review.
• The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, a multi-billion-dollar amphibious assault vehicle, has been canceled due to its excessive cost and limited effectiveness.
• The Marine Corps version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been placed on two-year probation and faces cancellation if testing problems are not resolved within the specified timeframe.
• The Army will cancel procurement of the SLAMRAAM surface-to-air missile and the non-line-of-sight launch system.
• The Air Force has proposed efficiencies totaling 34 billion dollars over five years, while the Army has proposed 29 billion in savings, and the Navy looks to savings of 35 billion over five years.
• Defense agencies have identified 54 billion in possible efficiencies.
• The services will use approximately 28 billion dollars to deal with higher-than-expected operating expenses, including healthcare, pay, and housing allowances, sustainment of weapons systems, depot maintenance, base support, and flight hours.

Statistics:

• 78 billion dollars in cuts to the defense budget over the next five years.
• 27,000 troop reduction in the U.S. army's permanent strength.
• 15,000-20,000 troop reduction in the Marine Corps, depending on the outcome of their force structure review.
• 3 billion dollars already spent on developing the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
• 12 billion dollars additional funding required to build the vehicle.
• 100 billion dollars in savings identified by the military services.
• 28 billion dollars allocated to deal with higher-than-expected operating expenses.
• 54 billion in possible efficiencies identified by defense agencies.

Sources:

• Xinhua News Agency via COMTEX, January 06, 2011.