Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a series of steps Monday that the Department will consider in an attempt to combat excessive spending, including the elimination of Joint Forces Command and a 10 percent reduction in funding for service support contractors.
“These initiatives vary in size and levels of savings achieved,” Gates said during a briefing at the Pentagon. “They represent an initial step of a comprehensive, department-wide efficiency and savings campaign.”
According to Gates, the continuation of Joint Force Command, which currently is tasked with ensuring cohesiveness in the theater, is unnecessary.
“Training joint forces … creating joint doctrine and experimenting with that doctrine all are valuable tasks,” Gates said. “However, they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combatant command.”
The command, which currently employs several thousand and holds an operating rate of $240 million per year, will have its primary responsibilities delegated to Joint Staff and other entities.
As for the other major move to rein in costs, Gates characterized the current dependency on contractors as an “over-reliance” and pointed to the 13 percent rise in non-theater based contractors that took place over the last decade. The Secretary also explained that contractors who leave will no longer be replaced by new full-time personnel.
The Secretary’s announcements are the latest in steps taken by Gates to create a more fiscally sound Defense Department. In drafting the budget last year, Gates scaled down the funding for programs related to conventional warfare, including the elimination of the F-22 fighter jet.
Gates, who initially indicated that he would leave his position before the completion of Obama’s first term, said that the will exists within the military and its civilian leadership to continue to cut overhead after he steps down. When asked when that would be however, Gates commented, “I’m going to be here longer than either I or others thought.”