Thought # 20
April 2009
Author: Bill Thurston
Defense Budget Recommendation for 2010
Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
April
06, 2009
I want to welcome some new readers and hopefully subscribers to these Thoughts.
Several classes of high school seniors at San Dieguot Academy in southern
California will be receiving this Thought. Their school is one of the highest
ranked high schools in the nation. On behalf of our readership nationwide we
welcome you. It's great to have young citizens interested in this great country.
The actual government document for this defense budget recommendation is at:
http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1341
To put the size of the budget in perspective, the 2009 defense budget was $515
billion representing a 7.5% increase over 2008. This proposed budget is $534
billion representing a 3.7% increase over 2009.
I think you will find My Thought much more readable and understandable than the
government document.
The links have more information and great pictures and videos.
Recommendations that focus on people.
1. Grow the members of the Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy.
$11 billion more than last year.
2. Grow our special operations capabilities by increasing personnel by more than
2,800.
3. Boost global partnership capacity efforts include training and equipping
foreign militaries to undertake counter terrorism and stability operations.
$500 million more than last year.
4. Improve cyberspace capabilities by increasing the number of cyber experts
from 80 students per year to 250 per year by FY11.
5. Grow Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) to 547,000.
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=8726
6. Medical research and development.
$400 million more than last year.
7. Maintain programs to help veterans with critical and permanent wounds,
illnesses and injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and psychological health
problems.
$300 million more than last year. $47 billion on healthcare.
8. Make improvements in child care, spousal support, lodging, and education.
$200 million more than last year.
Recommendations focused on converting private jobs to government jobs.
1. Increase the size of the defense acquisition workforce by converting 11,000
private contractors to government employees and hiring an additional 9,000
government acquisition professionals by 2015. Start with 4,100 in FY10.
2. Reduce the number of private support service contractors from 39 percent of
the workforce to the pre-2001 level of 26 percent and replace them with
full-time government employees. Our goal is to hire as many as 13,000 new civil
servants in FY10 to replace private contractors
and up to 30,000 new civil servants in place of private contractors over the
next five years.
Recommendations focused on new equipment.
1. Increase intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
(ISR) programs.
http://www.stormingmedia.us/60/6097/A609744.html
$2 billion more than last year. This will include:
1. Fielding and sustaining 50 Predator class unmanned aerial vehicle orbits by
FY11 and maximizing their production.
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=122
2. Increasing manned ISR capabilities.
3. Initiating research and development on a number of ISR enhancements and
experimental platforms.
2. Increase our capacity to field and sustain more helicopters
$500 million more than last year.
3. Buy 2-3 Littoral Combat Ships. (LCS)
http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/lcs/default.htm
4. Increase the charter of Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) ships from two to
four.
5. Buy 16 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Increases from $6.8 billion to $11.2 billion.
6. Add more missile defense systems, specifically the terminal High Altitude
Area Defense (THAAD)System and Standard Missile 3 (SM-3)
http://www.mda.mil/mdaLink/pdf/thaad.pdf
$700 million more than last year.
7. Convert six additional Aegis ships to provide ballistic missile defense
capabilities.
$200 million more than last year.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/aegis.htm
8. Replace the Air Force’s aging tanker fleet. Maintain the KC-X aerial
re-fueling tanker schedule and funding with the intent to solicit bids this
summer for new aircraft.
9. Begin the replacement program for the Ohio class ballistic missile submarine
program.
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=200&ct=4
10. Shift the Navy Aircraft Carrier program to a five year build cycle. This
will result in 10 carriers after 2040.
11. Complete production of the C-17 airlifter program this fiscal year.
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=86
12. Buy two navy destroyers. Stop buying DDG-1000 class ships and restart the
DDG-51 Aegis Destroyer program. If this program doesn't work effectively, there
will be a reduce in overall procurement of ships.
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/burke/
13. Buy more special forces optimized lift, mobility, and refueling aircraft.
Recommendations focused on reducing equipment
1. Retire 250 of the oldest Air Force tactical fighter aircraft.
2. End production of the F-22 fighter
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=199
3. Don't pursue a development program for a follow-on Air Force bomber until
there is better understanding of the needs, requirements, and technology.
4. Delay the Navy CG-X next generation cruiser program.
http://www.navy.com/about/shipsequipment/navyofthefuture/cgx/
5. Delay amphibious ship and sea-basing programs such as the 11th Landing
Platform Dock (LPD) ship and the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) SHIP to FY11.
http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/navy/amphibious/lpd17.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/mlp.htm
6. Terminate the VH-71 presidential helicopter.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/corporate/press-kit/VH-71-Brochure.pdf
7. Terminate the Air Force Combat Search and Rescue X (CSAR-X) helicopter
program.
http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/hh47/index.html
8. The Missile Defense Agency program will be reduced by $1.4 billion.
1. Terminate the $26 billion Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program, and
instead purchase two more Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites as
alternatives.
http://www.losangeles.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5332
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/AdvancedExtremelyHighFrequencyEHF/index.html
2. Don't increase the number of current ground-based interceptors in Alaska as
had been planned.
3. Cancel the second airborne laser (ABL) prototype aircraft.
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/abl/
4. Terminate the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV).
http://www.mda.mil/mdaLink/html/asptmkv.html
9. Significantly restructure the Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The
current vehicle program does not include a role for our recent $25 billion
investment in the MRAP vehicles being used to good effect in today’s conflicts.
Cancel the vehicle component of the current FCS program, re-evaluate the
requirements, technology, and approach and then re-launch the Army’s vehicle
modernization program.
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/ic/fcs/bia/
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