Further cuts to major defense acquisition programs are being examined as the Pentagon crafts its fiscal 2012 spending proposal to reflect a slowdown in defense spending, but they will not be the primary focus of the budget knife, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday.
"There are some [programs] that are still being looked at, both by the department and by the services," Gates told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon. "But the principle areas that we’re looking at are business operations and overhead."
Earlier this week, Gates said, he met with the department’s senior leadership to develop a plan for trimming waste from the budget.
In a series of recent speeches, Gates has warned that the massive increase in defense spending in the aftermath of the 9/11attacks is coming to a close. The Pentagon’s base budget has more than doubled since 2001.
Gates has indicated that he will continue his push to buy… Want the rest of the story?Subscribe to Defense Daily today and receive all the detailed news and information you need each day.
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Further cuts to major defense acquisition programs are being examined as the Pentagon crafts its fiscal 2012 spending proposal to reflect a slowdown in defense spending, but they will not be the primary focus of the budget knife, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday.
“There are some [programs] that are still being looked at, both by the department and by the services,” Gates told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon. “But the principle areas that we’re looking at are business operations and overhead.”
Earlier this week, Gates said, he met with the department’s senior leadership to develop a plan for trimming waste from the budget.
In a series of recent speeches, Gates has warned that the massive increase in defense spending in the aftermath of the 9/11attacks is coming to a close. The Pentagon’s base budget has more than doubled since 2001.
Gates has indicated that he will continue his push to buy simpler, cheaper weapons that have proved far more useful in the kinds of counterinsurgency operations that have been prevalent in the last decade. Last year, he succeeded in slashing or eliminating 30 major acquisitions programs–a savings of about $330 billion over time.
However, he said yesterday, “the focus of the cost cutting is on overhead costs and business operations, not on core military functions such as force structure or combat capabilities.” He said he hopes to begin changing the “cultural mindset” of the department to be more mindful of how it spends tax dollars.
“Contrary to some of the commentary, this initiative is not about cutting the overall defense budget,” he explained. “It remains my firm belief that, during an era of continued conflict, the United States requires a defense budget that grows modestly but steadily in real terms for the long haul.”
Gates said difficult choices lie ahead with regard to sustaining military capabilities unless resources are shifted away from “excess management structure.” In addition to reviewing the number of general officers in the military, Gates said he intends to scrutinize senior civilian positions in the Pentagon.
Speaking during the same briefing, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the uniformed military fully supports Gates’ plans to trim unneeded middle management positions.
“There are no boundaries on where to look,” Mullen said. “Every aspect of what we do needs to be examined to ensure we don’t have overhead we can’t afford.”
He added that he believes the target numbers proposed by Gates are “not that tough to get to.”
“The proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars is high on everybody’s list,” he added.
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