Budget cuts to the Pentagon

After consistently growing since 1998, the US military budget for 2013 will be about one percent smaller--about $525 billion. This is significant in that the military has been receiving large budget increases after the 9/11 attacks. The proposed budget involves cutting the size of the Army and Marines (though they will still be bigger than they were before US involvement in Afganistan and Iraq), reducing the amount of Air Force tactical squadrons, the Navy retiring seven old cruisers earlier than expected and cutting back production on other ships, and spending more on unmanned vehicles and Special Operations forces.

Still, the military budget cuts have been called a "rounding error" compared to total government spending. There will need to be further cuts as the Pentagon is trying to cut projected spending by $487 billion. The cuts can possibly be expanded by $600 billion depending on how things work out between the White House and Congress.

A defense analyst Thomas Donnelly said regarding relations between the President and Congress, "Either it will get worse for the Department of Defense if Obama gets reelected or Newt Gingrich gets elected, or it will get better for the Pentagon if Mitt Romney gets elected."

Defense Secretary Panetta said he will ask Congress to reduce retirement benefits and pay increases. President Obama has asked for less money to fund the military actions in the Middle East this year as the Iraq War closes.

I think that these budget cuts are a step in the right direction. The large budget of the US military is a vestige of the Cold War, and it is no longer necessary to be responsible for 45% of the world's military spending. As the US finally pulls out of Iraq, there are less excuses to keep spending up (unless the government comes up with evidence/"evidence" to get involved in other countries or the South China Sea). What are your ideas on this matter, AP folks?

Cuts In Military Spending

Leon E. Panetta, the Defense Secretary, is going to present his strategy to cut the Pentagon’s budget by hundreds of billions this week. He is expected to propose to shrink the size of the military to only be large enough to fight one ground war and conduct multiple other smaller operations. Pentagon officials are still debating on where the cuts will be made in almost every important area of spending. The idea is to eliminate $450 billion over the course of 10 years, which is about 8% of the current budget.

On top of the obvious concern of how the cuts will affect the future of the American military, the real issue being faced is not the cuts themselves, but where the cuts are coming from. A large chunk of the funding, about a third of the budget, is spent on military personnel costs. It goes to pay for salaries and allowances, health care, retirement, and additional costs. Mr. Panetta himself acknowledged that the personnel cost is unsustainable and the “generous retirement benefits may have to be scaled back to save crucial weapons programs.” On the one hand, spending a huge portion of our defense budget on “generous” benefits is irresponsible, but on the other is it fair to “break a promise to those who risked their lives for the country?” Despite the ethical debate, taking away from the Pentagon’s health care and retirement funds would potentially save billions in the coming years.

Although most of the Pentagon’s budget is put to good use, there is also a lot of government oversight as usual. Hopefully Congress will come up with or approve a way to decrease the spending over time. But, as the article said, “nowhere is balancing budget and strategy more challenging than in deciding how large a ground combat force the nation needs and can afford.”

U.S. Military Ends ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy for Gay Troops

On September 20th, the military policy of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' ended, allowing gay or lesbian troops to openly serve in the military. Public support for the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is shown as 77 percent of Americans approved of the repeal when Congress approved the change in December of last year according to a Washington Post-ABC News survey. However not everyone is happy of the change. One of these critics is the Washington-based Family Research Council's President, Tony Perkins, who said "Using the military to advance a liberal social agenda will only do harm to the military’s ability to fulfill its mission," in a written statement. That however has not stopped the Service members Legal Defense Network to hold 100 rallies celebrating the end of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' all over the country. With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repealed many of the troops that were discharged for being gay can now reenlist in the military. Preparing the change in months, the Pentagon has trained 2.3 million service members of what the repeal will mean for daily life. With the ending of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', many more gay troops are now encouraged to not hide their sexual orientation. One notably is the confession of an US Airman, who confesses to his father that he is gay in which the father responds that he loves him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVAgz6iyK6A&feature=related

New study disproves "don't ask, don't tell"

In Obama's State of the Union, he rejected "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the military, and called for it to be repealed immediately. Many military leaders and others have already expressed hesitation at the idea, and the stated views of Pentagon leaders is that repealing the ban would take a year or more and be a disruption to the entire armed forces.

However, a comprehensive study that updates existing studies on openly gay service members in Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other countries, holds the belief that gay soldiers do not cause a disruption. The study, “Gays in Foreign Militaries 2010: A Global Primer,” was conducted by the Palm Center of UC Santa Barbara.

The report found that there were no increased instances of harassment, none of the countries had to install separate facilities, and that transition was speedy and uneventful.

However, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012, said that he continued to support “don’t ask, don’t tell” because “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Um, ignorance much?

More Americans Joining Military as Jobs Dwindle

Although there was a lot more violence in Iraq last year, it was also the first year all active-duty and reserve forces met or exceeded their recruitment goals. And the trend seems to be accelerating.
This is interesting, yet not surprising. As the economy gets worse and unemployment falls, the steady paycheck, benefits and training offered by the military is very appealing. However, the economy alone is not accountable; the recent decline in violence in Iraq has also been a factor. In addition, the G. I. Bill will significantly expand education benefits (service members who spend at least three years on active duty can attend any public college at government expense or apply the payment toward tuition at a private university.) Recruiters now have a much less stressful job (although usually they must talk to 150 people before finding one person who meets military qualifications and is interested). Now, they can even start being more selective in their recruitments.