POM Proposition

The military services and defense agencies by last Friday, July 30, all delivered to the Office of the Secretary of Defense summaries of their proposed fiscal year 2012 spending plans, along with an outline that projects investments through FY-16, according to Pentagon officials.

Transferring details of these program objective memoranda (POMs) into the computer systems managed by OSD will take another few days, these officials say. The comptroller's shop is responsible for all FY-12 budget proposals and the office of cost assessment and program evaluation takes receipt of all FY-12 to FY-16 spending plans.

In August, service leaders will formally present their POM proposals to the Deputy's Advisory Working Group, co-chaired by Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright.

In mid-September, according to Pentagon sources, the Office of the Secretary of Defense -- in concert with the White House Office of Management and Budget -- will proceed with a review of these spending plans that will continue until Christmas, when the Pentagon traditionally locks in its new budget proposal.