Wednesday
Feb032010
DOD Requests $549 Billion From Congress
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 3:08PM
By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen pleaded with Congress to approve a $549 billion DOD budget for FY2011 during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday.
But this request does not include an extra $159 billion to support Overseas Contingency Operations, primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as a $33 billion war supplemental to support the President’s new agenda in Afghanistan.
Mullen said that Afghanistan is becoming the “center of gravity” for U.S. forces and added that the nation’s efforts will yield positive results within the next 18 months. Mullen also said that in that time, the number of American soldiers should decrease to 50 thousand and the military’s role should shift from combat to an advise-and-assist role.
“Getting there will demand discipline and hard work,” Mullen said. “It will most assuredly demand more sacrifice and more bloodshed, but the stakes are far too high for failure.”
Both Mullen and Gates stressed the importance of balancing the dissemination of funding to a variety of DOD initiatives.
The $549 billion budget is said to support a wide array of new and continuing Armed Forces initiatives. The modernization and creation of new ground, sea and air combat vehicles are key investments in preparing the military for the future, Gates said.
According to Mullen, the budget will also secure nearly $9 billion to support military families and advocacy programs. This includes child care and youth programs, counseling for veterans, military spouse employment and $2.2 billion for wounded, ill, and injured soldiers.
“It’s about balance, it’s about deterring and winning the big and the small wars, the conventional and unconventional,” Mullen said. “But where balance is most needed is in the programs and policies of our most important resource, our people.”
Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen pleaded with Congress to approve a $549 billion DOD budget for FY2011 during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday.
But this request does not include an extra $159 billion to support Overseas Contingency Operations, primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as a $33 billion war supplemental to support the President’s new agenda in Afghanistan.
Mullen said that Afghanistan is becoming the “center of gravity” for U.S. forces and added that the nation’s efforts will yield positive results within the next 18 months. Mullen also said that in that time, the number of American soldiers should decrease to 50 thousand and the military’s role should shift from combat to an advise-and-assist role.
“Getting there will demand discipline and hard work,” Mullen said. “It will most assuredly demand more sacrifice and more bloodshed, but the stakes are far too high for failure.”
Both Mullen and Gates stressed the importance of balancing the dissemination of funding to a variety of DOD initiatives.
The $549 billion budget is said to support a wide array of new and continuing Armed Forces initiatives. The modernization and creation of new ground, sea and air combat vehicles are key investments in preparing the military for the future, Gates said.
According to Mullen, the budget will also secure nearly $9 billion to support military families and advocacy programs. This includes child care and youth programs, counseling for veterans, military spouse employment and $2.2 billion for wounded, ill, and injured soldiers.
“It’s about balance, it’s about deterring and winning the big and the small wars, the conventional and unconventional,” Mullen said. “But where balance is most needed is in the programs and policies of our most important resource, our people.”
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