Posted on 08/09/2010 9:36:32 AM PDT by Doogle
WASHINGTON -- Officials briefed on the decision say Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to eliminate a major military command in Norfolk, Va., and try to cut the Pentagon's use of outside contractors by 10 percent next year.
The plan was to be announced at a Pentagon press conference on Monday. It is part of a broader effort to trim $100 billion from the military's mammoth budget in the next five years, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan begin to wind down and Congress turns its attention more to domestic priorities.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Agree with that point. Defense is looking like the only adult in the room willing to make some cutbacks. But not HHS, Interiror, Education, etc.,etc., etc. THey more than make up for any cuts elsewhere.
Gee, I thought Fox (I know the article is originally from AP), would not allow editorials to be passed off as news.
After all, the Military only accounts for only 1/4 of the entire national budget, while Social Security and Medicare make up 1/2 !!
When the Cold War ended, NATO restructured, and the SACLANT position went away. The problem was under Goldwater-Nichols, every single U.S. military unit in the world had to belong to some Unified Command. CONUS forces belonged to LANTCOM, regardless of if they were ultimately meant to fall under SACLANT in war.
LANTCOM was first reacronymed "USACOM", to reflect its lack of an Atlantic mission, and later was redesignated JFCOM, and CONUS forces remained assigned to JFCOM. JFCOM's missions were joint training, providing forces to other commands, and "Transformation". NATO created a "Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation" (SACT). Last year, SACT was taken over by Europe, leaving the JFCOM commander with no NATO role.
JFCOM's missions conflict with Goldwater-Nichols guidance which created the Vice Chairman of the JCS to handle joint coordination and transformation.
After 9/11, U.S. Northern Command was created. NORTHCOM was only assigned the CONUS military forces previously assigned to NORAD and a few other forces. NORTHCOM and JFCOM actually share their Navy component, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, the old Atlantic Fleet.
There was little reason for LANTCOM to continue under another name after the Cold War ended, and there was no reason for JFCOM to exist after NORTHCOM was created.
This action is long overdue. Reassign Army Forces Command, Air Force Air Combat Command, and Marine Corps Forces Command to NORTHCOM, assign the joint development role to JCS/J7, and the transformation role to Vice Chairman of the JCS, and jettison JFCOM for good.
JiffyCom predates Bush/Rumsfeld. It became JFCOM in 1999, and LANTCOM/USACOM's mission change occurred in 1993.
Thanks. Old age, don’cha know ....
but when Obama goes on a revenge mission on Virginia, you can guarantee, it will be more than just this that gets cut.
ping
JFCOM would be my guess.
Just watched Gates’ briefing. He’s directing the first two sets of manpower cuts in Pentagon senior staffs and some procedural “fixes.” The issue about USJFCOM is RECOMMENDED. Getting rid of USJFCOM isn’t quite so simple. Congress has to make that determination and it must go through the BRAC process. It’ll take several years to come to fruition, IF it even does.
good thing they put out a press release, or no one would have noticed...
Transfer FORSCOM, USFF, and ACC back to the Army, Navy, and Air force and let the services get back to training, manning, and equipping.
By the way, the whole briefing and script is at the Defense Business Board homepage.
It is payback time for opposition to Obama care!!!!!
DOD is the third largest line item in the budget after SS and Medicare. This is just the beginning as the US declines as a global power. We are going to make some difficult choices like the British did when their Empire crumbled. The choice will be between guns and butter, and butter will win out because it has more constituents. We cannot maintain our entitlement programs and be a first class global power. One must go and it will be the latter.
Read the article.
Look at the larger picture. This isn’t about cutting fat, it is about getting more money for the entitlement and welfare programs. These programs have plenty of fat, fraud, waste, and abuse. This is about cutting the US down to size by the Marxist regime that runs this country. No more US as a superpower.
Yes, I read Warner's "forceful" response. Nice to know Senator "Independent Voice" is standing tall for his state. /SARCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Funny isn't it? The ONLY federal employees facing the possibility of job cuts under this administration are Defense Department employees. And Robert Gates, ass-kissing flunky extraordinaire is right out there cutting jobs in the middle of the worst recession in decades. Cutting jobs of the only competent federal workforce there is.
Not unless someone can convince Kenny Golden to quit. my prediction from the ground here is that Nye wins, easily.
Just cut 2/3 of the Flag and General Officers and do away w/ the SESs and WALLA funding problem fixed.
And this “saved” money will be diverted to entitlements, which will make it a percentage of the overall budget forever hearafter removing it from a necessary Constitutional requirement: protecting the nation.
“Peace” Dividend = Entitlement Boondoggle
Bye Bye Oceana. I have a feeling it could be that. People complain and complain about the noise of the aircraft even though the base was there first.
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