Former Pentagon comptrollers Bob Hale and Mike McCord expressed skepticism recently about alarming stories of readiness gaps relayed by the military services on Capitol Hill.
Monday, May 20, 2024
Monday, May 20, 2024
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Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
Former Pentagon comptrollers Bob Hale and Mike McCord expressed skepticism recently about alarming stories of readiness gaps relayed by the military services on Capitol Hill.
A growing chorus of voices is expressing concern that the fiscal year 2017 defense supplemental request promised by the Trump administration will be far smaller than many in the GOP have advocated and will not include funding for weapons purchases.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expects Pentagon officials to swiftly develop implementation plans and proposals for congressionally mandated reforms, specifically the reorganization of the office of the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and other improvements sought by lawmakers, according to a recent memo.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joe Dunford and other senior military leaders will speak at a variety of venues this week, while top defense contractors will participate in the Barclays Industrial Select conference. Congress is out for the week.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said this week he is worried that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis might be unknowingly steered in the wrong budgetary direction by former Obama administration officials at the Pentagon, who, Thornberry asserts, have spent the past several years denying the existence of readiness problems and fighting congressional efforts to increase defense spending.
The Senate voted 51-49 to confirm Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) as the new chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Here are a few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) said today he will vote against Rep. Mick Mulvaney's (R-SC) nomination to become the next director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget on the grounds that Mulvaney, a prominent deficit hawk, will force the Pentagon into a budget battle.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose primary public role in the fledgling Trump administration has been the reassurance of foreign allies, could stand to benefit from the exit of Michael Flynn, the president's former national security adviser, who the White House said was forced from his job by the president after an "erosion" of trust stemming from statements he made about a wiretapped conversation with Russian officials.
The Senate is set to move forward today with the process to confirm Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) as the next chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget, but a final vote is not expected until Thursday, after 30 hours of debate forced by Democrats who oppose his nomination.
It will cost $400 billion over the next 10 years to operate, maintain and modernize U.S. nuclear forces, an average of $40 billion annually, according to a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) said today that Michael Flynn's resignation as national security advisor “raises further questions” about the Trump administration's policy toward Russia.
In an oblique appeal to the Trump administration, the Aerospace Industries Association is touting a "record trade surplus of $90 billion in 2016" and continued support of the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis plans to travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 14 -- Valentine's Day -- to "underscore the commitment" of the United States to the alliance and to defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to a Pentagon statement.
Key Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services committees acknowledge the military is facing serious readiness challenges after some unsettling testimony this week from top Pentagon officials, but the lawmakers are not prepared to cast aside their continued insistence that any increase in defense spending be matched with a boost in non-defense priorities.
Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to meet with the Defense Science Board next week to discuss classified national security challenges, according to a Federal Register notice.
The commander of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan told Senators today that coalition forces are in a "stalemate" with the Taliban, citing a shortage of troops and the Russian government's efforts to undermine U.S. operations.
Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee today named several new subcommittee ranking members.
The Defense Department inspector general has found no evidence that former Air Force acquisition official Richard Lombardi, who failed to disclose that his wife had a Northrop Grumman retirement account, participated in or approved any improper acquisition activities involving the company, including the contract award for the Long-Range Strike Bomber, now called the B-21.
The military service vice chiefs did their part Tuesday in the quest to boost defense spending, telling the House Armed Services Committee that readiness is near all-time lows and, as one admiral put it: "Time is running out."