Wittman Highlights Readiness Shortfall at Markup Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), chairman of the House Armed Services’ Readiness Subcommittee, underscored the military’s gap in readiness stemming from the strict spending caps enacted in 2011 along with the prospect of deeper cuts in training starting in fiscal 2016, at the outset of the panel’s markup of its portion of the fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill. Wittman cited a number of facts to illustrate the military’s shortfall: • the Air Force has restored only 50 percent of its pilots back to appropriate training levels after slashing flying hours last year; • the Navy has been forced to consider reductions in force structure, including ”phased modernization” of cruisers and amphibious warships over the next few years; • the Army has identified approximately $1.7 billion in unfunded training needs needed to keep troops safe; and • shortfalls and backlogs in the depots persist for all of the services for FY 2015. “These facts point to essentially one conclusion: the impact on the force has been significant and I don’t see any relief in the out-years unless we address sequestration,” Wittman said, according to his prepared remarks. He summarily dismissed the Pentagon’s request to hold a new BRAC round in 2017, when he pointed out that the panel’s mark prohibited DOD from “pursuing an additional BRAC round, or any other effort, aimed at locking in unwise force structure reductions during a time of accelerated transition and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.” Before approving its mark, the panel passed an amendment declaring any claims by the federal government against the city of Ogden, Utah, and the Ogden LRA related to the terms of a 1997 caretaker agreement with the Army over the former Defense Depot Ogden settled. The city and the LRA would have no remaining financial obligation to the federal government, according to the amendment. The full committee is scheduled to mark up the complete authorization bill on May 7. The draft legislation is available on the committee website.
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 17:11:49 +0000
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