There was an article in the news this morning that reminded of the days when I would go to the grocery store with the kids ( and now grandkids). It was a Defense News article on the White house pushing for higher DoD budget numbers- about $36 Billion higher than the sequester cap and just about in line with the Murray-Ryan budget deal. But they are also crafting at least $26 Billion in the “unfunded” wish list (See my previous comments about wish lists). It’s like getting to the checkout aisle at the grocery store with your kids in tow and they start picking up all the “kid-friendly” stuff strategically displayed there and explaining how they “NEED IT.” The stores know that you are more likely to give in when you are standing in line, with many other impatient shoppers behind you and have no time to deal with needy kids. As we know the President’s Budget is now in the checkout aisle, already overdue to Congress, but soon to be released in early March. And the “kids” are now trying to grab what they can before the groceries are scanned. What’s really interesting about this budget is that while they were in the shopping aisles, the Services (kids) and their parents (OSD) tried to put some of the stuff back on the shelf (an aircraft carrier battle group for example) but they weren’t allowed to do so by their grandparents (Congress). By the way, it’s always a bad idea to carry the grandparents along while shopping…We all know the kids get what they want when that happens, even if it’s not so good for them. A $26 Billion Wish List while standing in the checkout line is a pretty big pill to swallow. Logically one would assume that if it was really needed the Services would find a way to fund it, not wish for it, especially if they have received substantial relief from sequestration. So why the need for a list? Remember also that the $ 495 Billion budget request will be supplemented by another slug of $30 Billion or so to finance Afghanistan, so it can’t be for costs of war. It’s hard to imagine a wish list that nearly as large as the Supplemental request. I salute the DoD for attempting to make what they perceive to be “tough” decisions, but are they really the type of tough decisions that really need to be made? The article has a great quote from Gordon Adams, “You don’t take the pet rocks or big systems. It’s just not doable.” I agree with Gordon, but especially when the grandparents are along. By the way, when I was in charge of the Navy budget, it became obvious to me that in the end, everything turned out to be someone’s pet rock! I am not suggesting that the Congress should rubber stamp DoD budgets and blindly accept their funding requirements. One of our Nation’s fundamental founding principles is the civilian oversight of the military. What I am suggesting is that we need to take a step back and examine the entire process, so that wish lists are not necessary. Giving DoD a budget cap to deal with is tough enough, but then allowing no flexibility and discretion in where to absorb the cuts puts DoD in a position where they have to make wish lists in order to compensate for the senseless cuts demanded by sequestration. Take for instance the example of cutting a carrier battle group (CVBG). A CVBG consisting of roughly a dozen ships and submarines represents a capital investment of well over $50 Billion. At the end of the day, cutting that CVBG represents a real savings of maybe $1 Billion a year. That’s not good business, but given the constraints, it may be the only way for DoD to make up the budget deficit given the current process. I know this: Time spent developing, vetting and justifying wish lists is better spent focused on making the base budget reflect the real needs of DoD.
Crenshaw Consulting Associates
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