The Defense Department requested to reprogram nearly $2 billion in fiscal year 2014 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds, chief among them purchasing additional aircraft and supporting higher operational tempos for Navy air and surface fleets supporting operations in Iraq.
The Navy would receive more than half of the moved-around funding, if the four congressional defense committees sign off on the request. The Pentagon requested $1.03 billion for the Navy, $880 million of which would buy six F-35B Joint Strike Fighters and associated spare parts for the Marine Corps. The planes are needed to replace the six AV-8B Harriers lost in the September 2012 attack on Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, which DoD argued “resulted in the early stand down of one aircraft squadron and exacerbated the shortfall in the Marine Corps legacy Tactical Aircraft Fleet,” according to the request signed by DoD Comptroller Michael McCord on Monday.
The Pentagon also requested $150 million for Navy operations and maintenance, $70 million of which would buy more aviation fuel and maintenance for Navy air units in the Middle East, and $80 million of which would pay for “higher than budged costs for fleet surface ship maintenance resulting from extended deployments.” Navy leadership has warned for years that longer deployment cycles would wear out both personnel and the ships faster. A Navy official told Defense Daily that the need for the $80 million was partly a result of this trend toward longer deployments, and partly a reflection of the higher operational tempo this summer.
“People want a lot from their Navy, and there’s just so much happening out there,” the official said, so ships have been running hard and may need maintenance sooner than expected, or may need more work done than expected when they arrive at the shipyard.
The request would give the Army $404 million for 21 AH-64E Apache helicopters to replace 21 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters lost in battle. With the Apache having replaced Kiowa as the armed scout helo for the Army, “these additional Apache aircraft will help the Army reach its acquisition objective earlier, contribute to the manned-unmanned teaming, and reduce overall unit costs by increasing production efficiencies.” The request notes that the helicopters, though paid for with FY ’14 funding, would be added to the FY ’15 buy, bringing the year’s total to 46–nearly at the minimum sustaining rate of 48 to boost production line efficiency.
The Army would also get $15.4 million to replace Hellfire missiles used in Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Air Force would get about $431 million under the reprogramming request, including about $266 million for two F-35s and spares to replace two F-15 aircraft lost in combat in U.S. Central Command, and $174 million for research and development and procurement “to support an Urgent Operational Need requirement to procure a specific mission critical modification on GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetration.”
A total of $28 million would fund ongoing advise and assist missions by assessment teams in Iraq, who are helping the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces in their fight against the Islamic State.
To pay for the $1.91 billion in additional spending requirements, the Pentagon proposed a variety of cuts to the OCO budget, almost exclusively in the Army’s operations and maintenance budget. Citing the drawdown of troops, the Pentagon said it could cut money from contract linguists, base support, contract logistics support, maintenance and sustainment for aviation and counter-IED units in Afghanistan, and more.