DoD Shifting Dollars Around - What're They For?

Every year, starting FYQ4 the DoD asks Congress to shift money around in their accounts. This year's "big shift" is to cover the costs of moving supplies to Afghanistan around Pakistan, who closed the border crossing. However, there are some other very interesting budget requests in the this year's document, as reported by DefenseNews.

The Army’s $1.7 billion in additional funding requests reflect operations in Africa, logistics in Afghanistan, and the highly touted Capability Set 13, which is being deployed to three brigade combat teams (BCTs) in October. Until now, there were no dollar figures available associated with the capability sets, which are part of the Army’s No. 1 priority to develop and field its new Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) battlefield network.

The document also included:

• $18.2 million for USSOCOM logistical support in its mission “to disarm the Lord’s Resistance Army” in Central Africa.

• $140 million to field Capability Set 13 to three BCTs.

• $59.4 million to install structural upgrades to Humvees to integrate Capability Set 13 to the first three brigade combat teams scheduled for fielding in fiscal 2013. The Army had repeatedly said that Humvees would not be part of the networking plan.

• $28.7 million “to procure command and control components within the Tactical Operations Centers” for Capability Set 13.

• $51.3 million for Capability Set 13 integration onto five variants of MRAPs, Humvees and Strykers.

Conversely, the backbone of Capability Set 13, the WIN-T communications network, is losing $334.6 million due to efficiencies gained by including it in the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation program. The Army says that the reduction in funding will not affect its planned fielding of eight BCTs in fiscal 2013, and six more in 2014.

By: Brant