Operation and Maintenance

October 31, 2017  |  Katherine Blakeley
 

Overview

Readiness is the most immediate challenge the Pentagon faces, and it was the stated focus of the March FY 2017 budget amendment submitted by the Trump administration. It is broadly agreed that U.S. forces are experiencing what is often termed a “readiness crisis.” The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, described the military overall and each of the Services as experiencing significant readiness problems.[1] Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified that the lower level of defense funding due to the caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the budgetary uncertainty experienced by the Pentagon have resulted in “a steady erosion of military readiness.”[2] For example, Commandant Robert B. Neller stated in testimony in 2016 that the Marine Corps was unable to meet its mission and training requirements because it lacked enough airplanes due to backlogs and capacity limitations at repair depots, as well as spare parts issues.[3] The PB 2018 budget has promised to improve, although not fully rectify, these readiness problems.

It is, however, very difficult to define readiness, let alone how it should be measured and improved. The Department of Defense (DoD) defines readiness as “the ability of military forces to fight and meet the demands of assigned missions.”[4] Yet, DoD also refers to readiness in an operational sense, defining it as “the capability of a unit/formation, ship, weapon system, or equipment to perform the missions or functions for which it is organized or designed.”[5] Readiness can also be seen as a three-legged stool, resting on the size, training, and equipping of the force. Each of these legs can have a temporal component. For example, equipping the force entails both ensuring that existing equipment is in good repair, as well as procuring the right mix of equipment (in both capabilities and numbers) for the future. The March 2017 request for additional FY 2017 appropriations focused on “near-term readiness (i.e., maintenance, spare parts, training time, peacetime flying hours, munitions, etc.).”[6]

The March 2017 request for additional appropriations included $7.2 billion in base O&M, focused on operating forces and operational training, and $3.6 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) O&M funding, focused on the fight against ISIS and the conflict in Afghanistan. Congress appropriated a total of $8.4 billion in additional O&M funding, $2.3 billion below the requested additional funding, directing the majority of the increase to Navy and DoD-wide O&M (see Table 7-1).

 

Table 7-1: March 2017 Request for Additional O&M Funding and FY 2017 Additional Appropriations

Source: OUSD (Comptroller) CFO, “Request for Additional FY 2017 Appropriations,” Table 9, “Total (Base + OCO) Funding by Military Department and Appropriations Title”; CSBA analysis of additional appropriations provided in H.R. 244/P.L. 115-31, “Consolidated Appropriations Act 2017.”
Note: Dollars in millions.

 

Figure 7-1: PB18 O&M Request, as Compared to PB17 and FY17 Appropriations

Source: Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget Analysis Branch, Public Budget Database: Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018, Budget Authority (Washington, DC: OMB, May 2017), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2017-DB/xls/BUDGET-2017-DB-1.xls. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in thousands.

 

2018 Request

In the PB 2018 request, the Trump administration asked for a total of $271.9 billion in O&M funds, with $223.3 billion in the base discretionary budget and $48.6 billion in the Overseas Contingency Operations account. Congress appropriated a total of $253.3 billion for O&M in FY 2017, an increase of $1.5 billion over the total PB 2017 request of $251.8 billion. The PB 2018 total O&M request is $19.6 billion more than the final FY 2017 appropriation of $253.4 billion, an increase of 7.7 percent (see Figure 7-1).

The FY 2018 request for $271.9 billion in O&M funds is $18.5 billion higher than the $253.3 billion appropriated for O&M in FY 2017, an overall increase of 7.3 percent. For the base defense budget, the PB 2018 request of $222.3 billion is $23.9 more than Congress appropriated in FY 2017, an increase of 12 percent. In OCO, the PB 2018 request of $48.6 billion is actually $5.6 billion less than the $54.3 billion Congress appropriated in FY 2017, a decline of 10 percent. Congress appropriated relatively more funding in the OCO O&M accounts in FY 2017 in response to the November 2016 and March 2017 requests. The November 2016 request for $5.8 billion in additional OCO appropriations to support the war in Afghanistan and defeat ISIS included $5.1 billion in O&M funding. In response, Congress appropriated an additional $4.6 billion in O&M funding in OCO in the December continuing resolution.[7] The March 2017 Trump administration request for an additional $30 billion, described as a “readiness supplemental,” included $10.8 billion in O&M funding split between $7.2 billion in the base budget and $3.6 billion in OCO. Bound by the BCA caps on base defense spending, and unable to reach an agreement on increasing the BCA caps above adjustments made by the November 2015 Balanced Budget Act deal, Congress added $8.4 billion to the OCO O&M accounts in the final FY 2017 appropriations bill.[8]

The PB 2018 request is $53.1 billion, or 24 percent, more than anticipated for FY 2018 in the PB 2017 request. However, this large disparity is mostly due to the exclusion of any placeholder OCO funds for FY 2018 and beyond in the PB 2017. In the base budget, the PB 2018 requests $223.3 billion for O&M, an increase of $4.3 billion, or 2 percent, over the anticipated O&M funding levels for FY 2018 in PB 2017. The PB 2018 request for $48.6 billion in OCO O&M funding is $3.6 billion more than the $45 billion requested in FY 2017, an increase of 8 percent (see Figure 7-2).

 

Figure 7-2: Topline PB18 Base and OCO O&M Requests, as Compared to PB17 and FY17 Appropriations

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018 and FY 2017 appropriations data from Visual DOD. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in billions.

Within the Services, DoD-wide O&M accounts are the largest element of O&M spending. At a requested $79 billion for O&M in PB 2018, DoD-wide O&M accounts would receive more funding than those of the Army, Navy, or Air Force (see Figure 7-3).

 

Figure 7-3: FY18 O&M Funding Requested by Military Department

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in thousands.

DoD-wide programs are also the greatest beneficiary of the additional $18.5 billion in O&M funds requested over the FY 2017 appropriations of $253.3 billion. The PB 2018 requests a total of $77.9 billion for DoD-wide O&M, $9.1 billion more than the $68.8 billion appropriated in FY 2017—a 13.2 percent increase. The PB 2018 request asked for $72.3 billion in O&M for the Army, an increase of $3.8 billion or 5.5 percent over the final FY 2017 appropriations of $68.6 billion, and $61 billion for the Navy, also an increase of $3.8 billion or 6.6 percent over the final FY 2017 appropriations of $57.3 billion. The Air Force PB 2018 O&M request was for $60.3 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion or 2.7 percent over the final FY 2017 appropriations of $58.7.

 

Figure 7-4: Base PB18 O&M Request by Service, as Compared to PB17 and FY17 Appropriations

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018 and FY 2017 appropriations data from Visual DOD. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in billions.

 

Figure 7-5: OCO PB18 O&M Request by Service, as Compared to PB17 and FY17 Appropriations

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018 and FY 2017 appropriations data from Visual DOD. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in billions.

 

Figure 7-6: Total PB18 O&M Request by Service, as Compared to PB17 and FY17 Appropriations

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018 and FY 2017 appropriations data from Visual DOD. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in billions.

Overall O&M funding, at $271.9 billion, accounts for 42.6 percent of DoD’s discretionary budget request for FY 2018. O&M accounts for 32.8 percent of the Air Force’s overall FY 2018 budget request at nearly $60 billion and 33.8 percent of the Navy’s budget request at $60.8 billion. O&M is a much larger fraction of the Army’s budget at 43.8 percent, or $72.1 billion. O&M also comprises a whopping 70.4 percent of DoD-wide funding at $79.1 billion (see Figure 7-7 and Figure 7-8.). The total FY 2018 O&M request is fairly evenly spread across the Services. The Air Force and Navy account for 22.1 percent and 22.3 percent, respectively, of the overall DoD O&M profile. The Army’s O&M programs make up 26.5 percent, whereas DoD-wide O&M programs are at 29.1 percent (see Figure 7-3).

 

Figure 7-7: FY18 Request for O&M Funding Overall

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in thousands.

 

Figure 7-8: FY18 Request for O&M Funding By Military Department, as a Share of Each Department’s Overall Request

Air Force

Army

DoD-Wide

 

Navy

 

Source: OMB, Public Budget Database FY 2018. Analysis in Tableau.
Note: Dollars in thousands.

 

Details

O&M is the funding that DoD runs on. It falls into four major budget activities:

1. Operating forces funds day-to-day ground, air, and ship operations; combat installations; combat support elements; and combat readiness training and support;
2. Mobilization funds the deployment of forces, including forward presence, sealift, airlift, prepositioning, and other mobility efforts;
3. Training and recruiting funds the Services’ recruitment of new servicemembers and non-deployment related training, such as flight training or specialized skills training; and
4. Administration and service-wide activities funds administration, logistics, communications, security, and other support functions.

O&M additionally funds the Defense Health Program, which is funded in the DoD-wide accounts. O&M accounts also provide funding to support the Afghan Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior and the Counter-ISIL Train and Equip Fund.

 

Figure 7-9: PB18 O&M Request by Budget Activity

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Operating Forces

Funding in the operating forces budget activity is what enables the day-to-day combat activities of the force. Operating forces funding peaked in FY 2011 at $180 billion, falling steadily to $129.3 billion in FY 2015. Since the FY 2015 low, operating forces funding has risen slowly to the $137 billion appropriated in FY 2017. PB 2018 would increase funding for operating forces by $22 billion to $158 billion—a 16 percent jump. Overall, operating forces accounts for 58 percent of the PB 2018 O&M request. In PB 2018, $32 billion or 20 percent of the operating forces request would be for overseas contingency operations (OCO) accounts.

Within the operating forces budget activity, the funding trends of the Services have varied sharply. Most notably, the Army’s operating forces funding fell by more than 50 percent, dropping from $86 billion in FY 2011 to a low of $39.4 billion in FY 2016, reflecting the rapid drawdown of Army forces from Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress appropriated an additional $3.2 billion in FY 2017, reaching $42.6 billion. The PB 2018 request asks for $47.5 billion, an increase of $4.9 billion or 11.5 percent. By contrast, the Air Force’s operating forces funding remained between $33.5 and $37.5 billion in inflation adjusted dollars from FY 2009 through FY 2016, reflecting a more consistent operational tempo (OPTEMPO). The PB 2018 asks for $48.9 billion for Air Force operating forces, a sizeable 25 percent increase of $10 billion over the FY 2017 appropriations. Similarly, the Navy’s operating forces funding fluctuated between $42.9 billion to $48 billion between FY 2009 and FY 2017, reflecting a consistently high OPTEMPO. The PB 2018 request asks for $52.3 billion, an increase of $5.6 billion or 12 percent over the $46.7 appropriated in FY 2017. The PB 2018 requests $9.3 billion for special operations activities, accounted for in DoD-wide O&M funding (see Figure 7-10).

 

Figure 7-10: Operating Forces Funding History by Service

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

Within the PB 2018 operating forces budget activity in O&M, the largest costs are for base operations support ($25 billion); contractor logistics and system support ($9.9 billion); ship depot maintenance ($9.6 billion); facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization ($8.3 billion); and special operations operating forces ($8.3 billion).

Within the Air Force, the largest single element of the requested operating forces O&M funding is for contractor logistics and system support at $9.9 billion. This new appropriations title is a FY 2018 restructuring and consolidation of the Air Force’s weapon system sustainment. This funding title includes contractor logistics support and performance-based logistics programs, but excludes depot maintenance. The next largest is base support ($8 billion), which contains the operating costs of the Air Force’s installations. This includes a variety of expenses, including facility maintenance contracts; civilian personnel salaries; airfield operations; morale, welfare, and recreation costs; supply logistics; and command support. At $6.2 billion, funding for flying hours, which covers pilot combat flying skills, experience hours, and mission-specific training, is the next largest element. The major cost drivers are fuel, accounting for about a 45 percent of costs, followed by Air Force-managed sustainment costs at about 40 percent and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)-managed sustainment at about 15 percent. Depot equipment maintenance ($4.8 billion); facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization ($3.9 billion); and aircraft operations ($3.2 billion) are also major cost elements within the Air Force’s operating forces budget activity. The largest category of Air Force operating forces costs in the PB 2018 request is, unsurprisingly, air operations at a total of $19.2 billion, followed by air depot and maintenance expense at $14.7 billion, then air support and integration at $11.9 billion, and trailed by headquarters expenses at $1.5 billion (see Figure 7-11 and Figure 7-12).

The Army’s largest PB 2018 operating forces request is for base operations support ($9.9 billion). Like the Air Force, this funding title pays for the operation and maintenance of the Army’s installations. The next largest operating forces funding request is for force readiness operations support ($7.6 billion), which funds the operation of training ranges, the issuing of Army clothing and equipment, and the operation of communication and tactical intelligence systems; it also covers civilian personnel costs associated with supporting the readiness of land forces. Additional activities, at $6.1 billion in PB 2018, is OCO funding for day-to-day operations in theatre in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan ($4.8 billion), Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS ($1.3 billion), and the European Reassurance Initiative ($126 million). Facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization ($4.8 billion), followed by maneuver units ($3.1 billion) and aviation assets ($2.8 billion) are the other largest Army appropriations titles within operating forces. The largest category of Army operating forces costs in the PB 2018 request are for ground operations at $26.6 billion in FY 2018, ground support and integration at $17.1 billion, and air operations at $2.8 billion. The Army’s O&M account is also the pass-through for support for the Afghan ministries of defense and interior (funded at $3.8 billion and $1.2 billion in PB 2018, respectively) as well as for the Counter-ISIL Train and Equip Fund (funded at $1.8 billion in PB 2018) (see Figure 7-13 and Figure 7-14).

For the Navy, the largest operating forces appropriations title request is for ship maintenance ($9.7 billion). This would fund ship depot maintenance, including five overhauls to restore ships to baseline conditions, two planned incremental availabilities for deep maintenance, and 54 selected restricted availabilities for specific repairs to sustain a given ship between overhauls. The major costs within this appropriations title are the compensation of the depots’ civilian personnel and contracted maintenance. Like the other Services, the PB 2018 request for base operations support ($7 billion) funds the continued operation and maintenance of the Navy’s installations. The next largest appropriations title is mission and other flight operations ($6.5 billion), which funds all naval tactical air and anti-submarine forces, flying hours to meet readiness metrics, and air transportation needs in support of missions. This is followed by mission and other ship operations ($4.9 billion), which supports ship OPTEMPO, fleet and unit training, and operational support to naval forces. Other significant appropriations titles within operating forces are ship depot operations support ($2.2 billion) and combat support forces ($2.2 billion). Overall, naval operations is the largest category of spending within the operating forces budget activity at $15.9 billion, followed by naval depots and maintenance at $14.9 billion, air operations at $8.8 billion, ground support and integration at $4.8 billion, and communications at $2.3 billion (see Figure 7-15 and Figure 7-16).

The defense-wide operating forces budget activity includes funding not only for the defense health program, but also special forces operations. In PB 2018, DoD-wide funding requested for operating forces includes $8.3 billion for Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and $1 billion for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 

Figure 7-11: Air Force Appropriations Titles Within Operating Forces, PB18

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-12: Major Categories of Operating Forces Funding, Air Force

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-13: Army Appropriations Titles Within Operating Forces, PB18

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-14: Major Categories of Operating Forces Funding, Army

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-15: Navy Appropriations Titles Within Operating Forces, PB18

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-16: Major Categories of Operating Forces Funding, Navy

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Mobilization

The mobilization budget activity funds the deployment for forces, airlift, sealift, and prepositioning. By far the largest element is for airlift operations at a requested $3 billion in PB 2018. About half of airlift operations, or $1.4 billion, would be funded in OCO.

 

Figure 7-17: PB18 Mobilization Request by Service

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Training and Recruiting

The training and recruiting budget activity funds the Services’ efforts to recruit and train enlisted servicemembers and officers. At $2.4 billion in PB 2018, specialized skill training is the largest element, followed by flight training at $1.6 billion and training support at $1.4 billion. Specialized skill training does not include operational training in preparation for a deployment. The budget also includes a requested $736 million for professional development education and $573 million for off-duty and voluntary education.

Recruiting and advertising would receive $1.16 billion in the PB 2018. The Army requested $614 million, while the Navy requested $379 million, and the Air Force requested $167 million. In FY 2017, the Army’s accessions goal was 68,000 (with an increase of 6,000 active duty within the fiscal year due to the higher FY 2017 end-strength authorization), the Navy’s was 45,546, and the Air Force’s was 31,000. PB 2018 also includes $313 million for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and $746 million for Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Recruit training is a comparative bargain at a requested $109 million in FY 2018 (see Figure 7-18).

 

Figure 7-18: PB18 Training and Recruiting Request by Service

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Administration and Service-wide Activities

The PB 2018 asks for $54.8 billion for the fourth O&M budget activity, administration and service-wide activities. This budget activity primarily funds the operating expenses of the DoD agencies and the administrative and service-wide costs of the Services. Excluding classified funding, the PB 2018 requests $4.2 billion for the Air Force, $9.7 billion for the Army, and $4.1 billion for the Navy (see Figure 7-19). PB 2018 also requests $15.9 billion for DoD headquarters costs and agencies. This total includes $3 billion for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which leads DoD security cooperation and partnership efforts with ally and partner nations; $2.8 billion for the Department of Defense Education Activity, which runs pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 schools for DoD dependents; $2 billion for the Defense Information Systems Agency, which provides IT and communications support for DoD elements and the White House; $1.6 billion for the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and $1.5 billion for the Defense Contract Management Agency (see Figure 7-20).

This budget activity is also the pass-through for the operating expenses for classified programs and activities for both the Services and Special Operations Command. At $20.8 billion in the PB 2018 request, classified programs make up 38 percent of the funding requested in the administration and service-wide budget activity in O&M.

 

Figure 7-19: PB18 Administration and Service-Wide Request by Service, Excluding Classified Funding

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-20: DoD-Wide Administration and Service-Wide Funding, Excluding Classified Funding

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-21: Administration and Service-Wide Funding History by Service

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Defense Health Program

The Defense Health Program, which pays for most medical care provided to servicemembers and DoD beneficiaries, is funded in the DoD-wide portion of O&M. The O&M portion of the DHP request in FY 2018 is $32.5 billion. The largest cost component is private sector care ($15.6 billion), which pays for health care from private entities through the military healthcare insurance programs, primarily TRICARE, TRICARE Overseas, and TRICARE Reserve Select. In-house care, which covers the costs of the military Medical Treatment Facilities, is the next largest component at $9.5 billion. Other DHP elements are base operations/communications ($2.3 billion), which covers the maintenance and operational costs of military medical installations and facilities, and consolidated health support ($2.2 billion), which includes military medical exams during or before service, military medical laboratories, public and occupational health efforts, veterinary services, and other military medical and preparedness activities (see Figure 7-22). These categories also include $822 million in RDT&E and $413 million in procurement elsewhere in the budget.

The overall DoD health care spending is termed the unified medical budget. In FY 2016, the most recent year for which overall funding costs for the unified medical budget is available, the DoD health care system paid for the care of an estimated 9.4 million beneficiaries, including 1.4 million servicemembers; 1.8 million active-duty family members; 170,000 activated Guard or Reserve members; 710,000 Guard or Reserve family members; 3.2 million retirees age 64 or younger and their dependents; and 2.2 million retirees 65 and older and their dependents.[9] That year, the unified medical budget totaled $51.5 billion. That figure includes $17.6 billion in direct care, $14.7 billion in private sector care, $8.4 billion in military personnel costs, $10.4 billion in accrual payments for the TRICARE for Life Medicare wrap-around program for retirees, and $630 million in military construction costs.

 

Figure 7-22: PB18 Defense Health Program O&M Request

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

What does O&M funding purchase?

Within the base PB 2018 O&M request, the largest single category of O&M expenditures is for other purchases at $82 billion, followed by civilian personnel compensation at $34.4 billion, defense working capital fund supplies and materials at $17 billion, and other fund purchases at $16.3 billion. The largest costs overall are for non-wage board civilian pay ($29.8 billion), other depot maintenance that is not paid for by the defense working capital funds ($14.2 billion), contracts for equipment maintenance ($12.6 billion), other intra-governmental purchases ($7.2 billion), fuel purchased from the Defense Logistics Agency—Energy ($6.7 billion), other costs associated with lands and structures ($4.3 billion), the cost of equipment not paid for by the defense working capital funds ($3.8 billion), the operation and maintenance of facilities ($3.7 billion), Air Force consolidated sustainment ($3.5 billion), and wage board civilian pay ($3.5 billion).

 

Figure 7-23: PB 2018 Largest O&M Cost Elements

Source: Service and Defense-wide Justification Books for FY 2018.[10]
Note: Dollars in billions.

 

OCO

O&M is the most significant element of OCO funding in PB 2018. At $48.6 billion, the OCO O&M request is 76 percent of the total OCO request, far above the $10.2 billion requested for procurement, the $4.3 billion requested for personnel, and the $611 million requested for RDT&E. The O&M proportion of the OCO request has remained between 72 and 80 percent since FY 2010, even as the overall OCO request amount has declined (see Figure 7-24).

OCO accounts for 17.9 percent of DoD’s total $271 billion O&M request in PB 2018, a figure that has stabilized after declining from a high of 36.9 percent in FY 2011. The Army remains dependent on OCO for about 30 percent of its O&M funding, a higher proportion than the other Services. In PB 2018, that amounts to $22.9 billion, $5.1 billion more than appropriated in FY 2016. Although the Army’s overall OCO O&M request has declined substantially since its peak of $77 billion in FY 2011, it remains approximately twice as high as the OCO O&M requests of the other Services. $10.3 billion, or 17 percent of the Air Force’s $72.3 billion PB 2018 O&M request, is for OCO funds. $7 billion, or 11.5 percent of the Navy’s $61 billion O&M request, is for OCO funds. At $8.3 billion, OCO funds also make up 10.7 percent of the $77.9 billion in O&M funding requested for defense-wide activities (see Figure 7-24 and Figure 7-25). (see VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-24: OCO Requests by Appropriation Title, FY08–FY18

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-25: OCO O&M Requests by Service, FY09–FY18

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-26: Base and OCO O&M Requests, FY09–FY18

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Readiness

In an attempt to identify the areas within the O&M budget that directly support readiness, this section groups the appropriations titles within the operations and maintenance accounts into categories according to the types of functions they support. Although all of these categories (with the exception of foreign assistance) may have some impact on readiness, this section focuses on the following categories as the primary contributors to short-term readiness recovery:

• Operational training includes funding for training that is directly related to operations or deployment, found in the operating forces budget activity;
• Maintenance and depots captures funding related to depot maintenance and the costs of maintain and repairing platforms, weapons systems, and equipment, predominantly in the operating forces budget activity; and
• Prepositioned stocks includes funds for the advance positioning of equipment that would be used in a contingency, also found in the mobilization budget activity.

Other analytical categories capture military operations and planning as well as mobilization. The remaining categories—base operations and facility sustainment, restoration and modernization, recruiting and training, administrative and service-wide activities, and the defense health program—constitute the ongoing routine operations and maintenance costs of the military. As such, they contribute to a more broadly defined general readiness rather than directly impacting operational readiness. Finally, foreign assistance affects the readiness of foreign partners, but not U.S. forces.

Figure 7-26 breaks down the PB 2018 request and previous years’ appropriations funding along these ten O&M categories. The PB 2018 requested $32.3 billion for maintenance and depots, $22.9 billion for operational training, and $564 million for pre-positioned stocks, as well as $85.1 billion for military operations and planning and $4.6 billion for mobilization. In categories more loosely related to readiness and operations, the PB 2018 requested $38.5 billion for base operations and facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization; $36.2 billion for administration and service-wide activities; $33.4 billion for the Defense Health Program; $10.8 billion for recruiting and training; and $7.1 billion for foreign assistance.

 

Figure 7-27: FY09–FY17 Appropriations and PB18 O&M Request by Readiness Category

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

Overall readiness funding (comprising the maintenance and depots, operational training, and pre-positioned stocks categories) has fluctuated, reaching a peak of $45.7 billion in FY 2013 despite the sequester before falling by $2.2 billion in FY 2015. Compared to the FY 2017 appropriations of $45 billion, PB 2018 would add $10.8 billion to these readiness categories, an increase of 24 percent (see Figure 7-27).

Readiness funding for the Army fell from a peak of $18.3 billion in FY 2012 to a low of $13.5 billion in FY 2016, a decline of 26.2 percent, or 5.4 percent annually. Over the same time period, the Air Force’s readiness funding grew from $11.8 billion in FY 2012 to $15.4 billion in FY 2017, an annual growth rate of 5.5 percent. Similarly, the Navy’s readiness funding grew from $12.6 billion in FY 2012 to $15.7 billion in FY 2017 despite a dip following FY 2013, reflecting an annual growth rate of 4.4 percent (see Figure 7-28). Overall, the Air Force would see the largest increase in readiness funding in the PB 2018 request, with an additional $5.4 billion for operational training (a nearly three-fold increase) and $1.2 billion more for maintenance and depots (an 8.6 percent increase). The Navy would see the next-largest increase, with an additional $545 million for operational training (an increase of 21.6 percent) and $1.9 billion for maintenance and depots (an increase of 14.2 percent). The Army would receive the smallest readiness plus-up, heavily focused on operational training, with an additional $1.9 billion (a 17.5 percent increase), with just an additional $11 million in increased funding for maintenance and depots (see Figure 7-29).

 

Figure 7-28: Military Readiness Appropriations and PB18 Request, by Category and Total

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-29: Military Readiness Appropriations and PB18 Request, by Service and Total

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-30: PB18 Additions to Readiness Funding, by Service and Category

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

Within the operational training readiness category, the Army’s Force Readiness Operations Support receives the largest funding request for FY 2018 at $7.6 billion, a 31 percent increase over the FY 2017 appropriations. Navy Ship Operations Support and Training and Fleet Air Training, on the other hand, have remained relatively constant since FY 2009, with modest increases in the PB 2018 request (see Figure 7-31). The Air Force’s Flying Hour Program is a new appropriations title in FY 2018, reflecting the consolidation of the flying hour-related elements of numerous appropriations titles associated with operating forces into a single title.[11]

 

Figure 7-31: Operational Training Appropriations and PB18 Request, by Appropriations Title

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

Overall, while the maintenance and depot readiness category has seen steady moderate increases in funding for the Air Force and the Navy, it has experienced a two-thirds decline in funding for the Army since FY 2011. The decline in the Army’s maintenance and depot funding can be seen in most of its appropriations titles. RESET, an effort to reset and rehabilitate the Army’s equipment after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and funded in OCO, had an average request of $7.9 billion from FY 2009 until FY 2011, only to fall precipitously to just under $4 billion in FY 2012. The Air Force’s Depot Maintenance category appears to plummet from a peak of $13.5 billion in FY 2017 to just $357 million in PB 2018. However, this actually reflects a re-organization of the Air Force’s depot maintenance program into two new appropriations titles, Contractor Logistics Support ($9.9 billion) and Depot Purchase Equipment Maintenance ($4.8 billion), for an actual increase of $1.2 billion. Navy Ship Depot Maintenance has grown steadily since FY 2009, rising from a low of $4.6 billion to a peak of $9.6 billion in FY 2018. However, increases to Ship Depot Maintenance may have come at the cost of reduced maintenance and depot funding for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. Through FY 2017, appropriations for Navy Aircraft Depot Maintenance remained below the FY 2011 high point of $1.6 billion (see Figure 7-32). Although this is a very preliminary analysis, these upward trends in maintenance and depot funding for the Air Force and Navy, combined with the continuing poor state of equipment readiness, prompt questions into potentially escalating maintenance costs for aged and run-down platforms, the costs of deferred maintenance, the accuracy of the Services’ future maintenance cost estimations, and how much funding and depot availability would be required to actually restore the Services to an acceptable state of readiness.

 

Figure 7-32: Maintenance and Depot Appropriations and PB18 Request, by Service

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-33: Maintenance and Depot Appropriations and PB18 Request, by Appropriations Title

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

Although Congress has been unable to remove the limits imposed by the Budget Control Act, it has largely fully funded the amounts requested for operational training and maintenance and depots. For operational training, Congress fully funded the Pentagon’s request in every year between FY 2009 and FY 2017, with the exceptions of FY 2012, FY 2013, and FY 2014, appropriating $1.7 billion, $377 million, and $816 million below the requested amounts those years, respectively. Much of the delta in FY 2012 was due to a smaller-than requested increase for the Army, likely due to the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress has also met or exceeded the Pentagon’s requests for maintenance and depot funding for each year between FY 2009 and FY 2016, with the exception of a slight underfunding in FY 2012. In FY 2012 and FY 2013, Congress actually appropriated substantially more funds than requested (see Figure 7-33 and Figure 7-34).

 

Figure 7-34: History of Requests and Appropriations for Operational Training

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

Figure 7-35: History of Requests and Appropriations for Maintenance and Depots

Source: VisualDOD data. Analysis in Tableau.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katherine Blakeley is a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Prior to joining CSBA, Ms. Blakeley worked as a defense policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service and the Center for American Progress. She is completing her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she received her M.A. Her academic research examines Congressional defense policymaking.

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND BUDGETARY ASSESSMENTS (CSBA)
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is an independent, nonpartisan policy research institute established to promote innovative thinking and debate about national security strategy and investment options. CSBA’s analysis focuses on key questions related to existing and emerging threats to U.S. national security, and its goal is to enable policymakers to make informed decisions on matters of strategy, security policy, and resource allocation.
 

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