The Defense Department is requesting $495.6 billion in its base budget, a reduction of $400 million from the enacted Fiscal 2014 budget. The proposed budget meets the sequester-related caps in Fiscal 2015, though it exceeds those caps by some $115 billion from Fiscal 2016 through Fiscal 2019, said DOD Comptroller Robert Hale on Tuesday. The Fiscal 2015 request also assumes some risks, but those risks would rise “significantly” if sequester continued beyond Fiscal 2016, said Pentagon officials. Hale said DOD planners strived to find the right balance between the size of the Joint Force, its readiness, and its capabilities, though he said officials were forced to make tradeoffs between the three in the long term. To save readiness and modernization, a host of efficiencies and compensation reforms have been proposed, including a new BRAC round in Fiscal 2017 and consolidation of the Tricare system beginning in Fiscal 2016. (Fiscal 2015 defense budget summary) (See also Pentagon Seeks $526.6 Billion in Fiscal 2014.)
Macro Breakdown: Operations and Maintenance: $198.726 billion; Military Personnel: $135.194 billion; Procurement: $90.359 billion; Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation: $63.534 billion; Military Construction/Family Housing: $6.558 billion; and Other: $1.234 billion.
Department Breakdown: Air Force: $137.782 billion; Navy: $147.686 billion; Army: $120.331 billion; and Defense-wide: $89.806 billion.