The Air Force is requesting $114.1 billion from Congress in Fiscal 2014 to fund its base operations, according to Maj. Gen. Edward Bolton, the service’s budget deputy, and documents released on Wednesday. This request does not include funds for the service’s overseas contingency operations next fiscal year. The service is preparing a separate OCO request that it will submit to Congress in the coming weeks, Bolton told reporters during a Pentagon briefing. The Air Force’s request also does not factor the spending cuts that would be necessary if budget sequestration drags into Fiscal 2014, he noted. The $114.1 billion topline includes: $46.6 billion for operations and maintenance; $29.2 billion for military personnel; $18.8 billion for procurement; $17.6 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation; and $1.9 billion for military construction, according to the documents. Bolton said the budget request has “no major muscle movements”—meaning no major new program starts or other changes. The Air Force’s budget request balloons to $144.4 billion when factoring the funding for non-Air Force-specific joint activities, like intelligence and health care, that runs through Air Force accounts. Stay tuned for more budget coverage.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
