Recap Retake

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli today corrected a statement he made at a July hearing before House Armed Services subcommittees about supplemental funding limitations for equipment recapitalization.

As Inside the Army reported at the time, Chiarelli told lawmakers at a July 9 hearing that White House Office of Management and Budget guidance had changed the rules for overseas contingency operations spending -- as supplemental funds are now known -- in fiscal year 2010.

“As a general rule, we will not be able to bring back and recap -- and that means add upgrades to equipment -- in 2010,” Chiarelli told members of the House Armed Services readiness, air and land forces and seapower and expeditionary forces subcommittees. “We’re still doing it in 2009, and we will continue to do it throughout this year. But when we start executing the FY-10 program, the new OCO rules do not allow recap of equipment as a general rule.”

However, at today's hearing before the same subcommittees, Chiarelli said he provided inaccurate information in July, adding that, in fact, current rules do allow the Army to use OCO funding to recap or upgrade equipment returning from theater.