opinionWar

Want to Save the Defense Budget? Kick Those Nasty Habits

In the big picture of 2015, the US military is facing a complex, demanding, and significantly resource-constrained national security environment.  The world is changing, but certainly not calming. Nonstate actors such as ISIS, the Syrian conflict, Iran’s nuclear program, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China and the pivot to the East, Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea are just a few issues America must grapple with.  Sequestration budget issues have not yet been settled, leaving a potential $500 billion bogey on the cutting board over the next decade, while at least $20 billion in maintenance of war-weary planes, ships, submarines, tanks, and vehicles has been withheld this year alone. US military forces are concluding more than thirteen years of the highest operational tempo since World War II, resulting in significant readiness, retention, maintenance, and physical and mental health challenges.

Even though the demand signal remains high, a reduction in personnel is expected, requiring even more of the remaining force structure. The bottom line for our Active Duty and Reserve personnel and their families is that they must continue to do more with less. As then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in 2013, “any serious effort to reform and reshape our defense enterprise must confront the principal drivers of growth…namely acquisitions, personnel costs, and overhead.”  Such challenges demand earnest introspection, commitment, and innovative solutions.  One significant personnel cost reduction solution could be found through the promotion and encouraged improvement of health for all defense personnel active duty, reserve, retirees, and their families.

Reining in Bad Habits Reigns in Defense