CNO: No Unfunded Needs

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert has formally declined to submit an unfunded requirements list to Congress. The admiral relayed the service's decision in a brief April 5 letter to House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), who on Feb. 17 invited all the services and U.S. Special Operations Command to submit such lists.

"In my estimation, the Navy's FY-13 budget is balanced to requirements and aligns with the Department of Defense Strategy, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense," Greenert writes. "We will promptly notify the Committee should we encounter pressing needs in the future." Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos recently sent a similar letter to Congress.

Inside the Pentagon first reported last month that the military's unfunded requirements lists could disappear amid the fiscal crunch facing the DOD and other government agencies. Last year, the unfunded requirements submitted by the department exceeded $1 billion.