The Navy portion of the Pentagon’s 
FY’09 budget request is the largest chunk among the services. It amounts to $149.3 billion, including $24.9 billion for the Marine Corps, which equates to 29 percent of DOD’s overall $515.4 billion proposal. The Air Force comes in a close second with a blue and non-blue total of $143.9 billion, equating to a 28 percent share of the total budget. However, remember USAF’s discretionary or blue budget is $117 billion. The Army portion 
for 2009 at $140.7 billion or 27 percent of the total shows the largest overall increase, about 9.6 percent more than the previous year. Defense-wide expenditures lie at $81.6 billion (16 percent). DOD divides the total budget proposal into four major accounts, requesting 35 percent of the total for strategic modernization; 31 percent for operations, readiness, and support; 29 percent for military pay and healthcare; and five percent for family housing and facilities.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.