The two top Army leaders Tuesday told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that budget cuts, sequestration caps and moving overseas contingency operations items (OCO) to the base budget mean even tighter funds and pressures on modernization programs.
The Army is under heavy pressure to become smaller and shed troops down to as many as 450,000, or with sequestration, to 420,000, as it moves back to the United States from 12 plus years of conflict, But the land force’s commitments and equipment wear and tear grow. This has put end strength, readiness and modernization out of balance, Army Chief of Staff Gen, Raymond Odierno told HASC members March 25.
“Research, development and acquisition funding has declined 39 percent since the FY ’12 budget planning cycle,” Odierno said. Declining funds are needed to train and equip those soldiers going in harm’s way, deploying on operations and in the quick reaction force.
On top of budget cuts, if sequestration-level spending caps kick in, they would require a 25 percent reduction to Army modernization accounts with no program unaffected, a joint statement from Army Secretary John McHugh and Odierno said.
For example, Odierno said, “the money isn’t there,” for the current aviation fleet to continue as it is. Eliminating older aircraft and transferring others will result in a more capable, flexible, aviation arm, he said, saving some $12.7 billion across the program objective memorandum.
Among aviation changes, the Army National Guard will transfer low-density, high-demand AH-64 Apaches to the active Army, where they will be teamed with unmanned systems for the armed reconnaissance role as well as their traditional attack role.
The aviation plan, and the Apache shift, has drawn much attention, including from a clearly concerned Rep. William Enyart (D-Ill.), who warned to McHugh and Odierno that troops shouldn’t be sent on operations without being properly trained and equipped.
He was particularly concerned about Army plans to move Apaches to the active force. This, he said would preclude training for National Guard units which in past years had Apaches, trained with their Apaches and then deployed with their Apaches. Troops have to be able to “train as they fight,” said the former Adjutant General of Illinois National Guard.
The Army equipment modernization strategy pursues the effective use of resources for the near-term requirements, while carefully investing in future capabilities, the Army leaders told members. This plan covers the service’s operational priorities to improve soldier lethality, protection and situational awareness.
Some modernization programs, such as the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) and Armed Aerial Scout, will not move forward into acquisition, though the requirements for them remain. Some 30 other programs will be restructured and 50 programs delayed, service leaders said.
But money for another large program moves forward: the Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV). Responding to a question from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), McHugh said the program is among the Army’s key strategic requirements. One of the competitive bidders on the program–
General Dynamics [GD]–is in the midst of an agency protest over the request for proposals. The protest said “in essence (the Army) wrote requirements to favor a particular manufacturer,” McHugh said. That company would be BAE Systems. The Army is “working through” the issues, McHugh said. The AMPV, to replace the aging M113, is “absolutely vital to us.” The agency decision is due April 4.
Odierno said of the AMPV program, “it’s incredibly important to us” and the Army is long overdue in replacing the Vietnam-era M113 vehicle.
By FY ’20-’22, the Army will start reinvesting in modernization as forces achieve the readiness leaders want and the force comes back into balance. Under the president’s budget request, that could happen three to five years earlier, in FY’18, he said.
Considering the budget that the Army was “forced” into, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of HASC, told colleagues: “If you don’t like those cuts, offer alternatives or give them more money. It is literally a zero-sum game.”