The New York Analysis of Policy & Government concludes its two-part review of military preparedness
In 2016, A Heritage Foundation analysis of military readiness found:
“The consequences of the current sharp reductions in funding mandated by sequestration have caused military service officials, senior DOD officials, and even Members of Congress to warn of the dangers of recreating the ‘hollow force’ of the 1970s when units existed on paper but were staffed at reduced levels, minimally trained, and woefully equipped. To avoid this, the services have traded quantity/capacity and modernization to ensure that what they do have is ‘ready’ for employment.
“As was the case in 2014, the service chiefs have stated that current and projected levels of funding continue to take a toll on the ability of units to maintain sufficient levels of readiness across the force. Some units have reduced manning. Though progress has been made in some areas due to supplemental funding provided by Congress in 2014, the return of full sequestration threatens to undo these gains. For example:
- General Raymond T. Odierno, former Chief of Staff of the Army, has stated that the Army can maintain only one-third of its force at acceptable levels of readiness. Each shuttering of a BCT incurs a lengthy restart cost. Specifically, “it takes approximately 30 months to generate a fully manned and trained Regular Army BCT,” and “senior command and control headquarters…take even longer.
- General Mark A. Welsh, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, has noted that if the Air Force shut off all utilities at all major installations for 12 years or quit flying for nearly two years, it would save $12 billion—enough to buy back just one year of sequestered funds.
- The Navy is accepting risk in its ability to meet defense strategy requirements according to Admiral Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations. He has testified that under current spending limitations, “ships will arrive late to a combat zone, engage in conflict without the benefit of markedly superior combat systems, sensors and networks, or desired levels of munitions inventories.”
- Also, the Navy can now surge only one-third of the force required by Combatant Commanders to meet contingency requirements.
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“It is one thing to have the right capabilities to defeat the enemy in battle. It is another thing to have a sufficient amount of those capabilities to sustain operations over time and many battles against an enemy, especially when attrition or dispersed operations are significant factors. But sufficient numbers of the right capabilities are rather meaningless if the force is unready to engage in the task.”
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness recently proposed the following to meet some aspects of the crisis:
- fully funding flying hours, underway operations, and training exercises to rebuild readiness for ships, aircraft squadrons, and ground combat units;
- an end to base closures for the coming fiscal year;
- rebuilding readiness, enhancing exercises, and modernize training requirements;
- funding 19 Combat Training Center rotations across the Army–15 Active and 4 Army National Guard;
- Recommends to the Chairman providing $10.2 billion for military construction, family housing, and implementation of legacy Base Realignment and Closure;
- recommendations, a $2.3 billion increase over fiscal year 2017 levels, and begins to reverse years of underfunding in facility restoration and modernization accounts;
- Provides the Department of Defense with more responsive facility construction, repair, and real estate authorities, ensuring the services have the flexibility they need to provide modern, efficient, and properly configured facilities to meet 21st century training and operational requirements;
- Supports the Marine Corps Ground Equipment Depot Maintenance reset program;
- Requires the Navy to report to Congress on its comprehensive plan to address shortfalls in the public shipyard enterprise.
For far too long, military preparedness has been treated as just any other government expense. But cutting defense funding creates life-and-death risks, both for those in uniform and for the nation as a whole. The eight years of slashed funding for the U.S. armed forces, while Russia, China, and other adversaries dramatically ramped up their war-fighting prowess, was an exercise in incredibly poor judgement.