Why this defense drawdown must be different: Q&A with Mackenzie Eaglen

[Valin]

AEI:

 

Mackenzie Eaglen

May 28, 2013

 

Over two months in, deep and arbitrary budget cuts imposed by sequestration are popping up all over the US military with real consequences for those in uniform. This may be one reason the presidents budget request for next year virtually ignores sequestration. While Congress may be inclined to follow, the law remains unchanged and no grand bargain seems within reach at the moment.

 

This means that now is the time for policymakers at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill to seize the opportunity to mobilize support for far-reaching changes to some of the key drivers of defense spending that are threatening other essential priorities. Unfortunately, while there is a growing consensus in DC that such structural reforms are needed at the Department of Defense (DoD), the political will is conspicuously absent. AEI defense analyst Mackenzie Eaglen has written extensively about this topic. AEIdeas recently sat down with Mackenzie and asked for her thoughts on the subject.

 

Q: Why is this defense drawdown different from the last five in Americas history over the past 100 years?

 

Eaglen: With the exception of one, the drawdowns that occurred after Americas wars of the 20th century were from a draft, or conscription, force. Those in uniform were obliged to serve and therefore much cheaper than the professional, volunteer military we have today. Even the post-Cold War drawdown from a volunteer force was one compensated much differently than troops today after a decade of constant combat. Between fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2013, the cost of military pay, allowances, and health care rose 90%. In fact, people alone now consume about 55% of the entire defense budget.

 

The Defense Departments declining budget is not falling in the same ways as before. The surging costs of bureaucratic overhead, an over-burdened weapons buying process, excess bases, a growing civilian workforce, and the compensation packages for DoD personnel are poised to, as my colleague Clark Murdock at the Center for Strategic and International Studies has argued, hollow out the military from within.

 

Q: What have recent Pentagon leaders done to address the growing costs of the civilian bureaucracy?

 

(Snip)

 

 

 

 

From Heritage