USJFCOM to be Axed? (Updated)
Officials: Belt-tightening Will Cut 1 Command – Anne Gearan, Associated Press. 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.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will conduct a press briefing at 2:30 p.m. EDT in the DoD Briefing Room, Pentagon 2E973.
Andrew Exum at Abu Muqawama – “One of the wisest military analysts I know remarked, upon hearing the rumors, that JFCOM does three valuable things that either the joint staff or another command will now have to pick up: 1) Writing joint doctrine, 2) Monitoring force readiness and modernization across the services, and 3) Coordinating U.S. and NATO modernization efforts.”
Update
Via the press briefing here’s SECDEF Gates decisions:
1. Reduce the funding for support contractor personnel by 10 percent a year for the next three years.
2. Freeze number of Office of the Secretary of Defense, defense agency and combatant command manpower positions at the fiscal 2010 levels for the next three years.
3. Freeze the number of senior Defense Department leaders at fiscal 2010 levels. Expect this effort to cut at least 50 general and flag officer positions and 150 senior civilian executive positions over the next two years.
4. Increase the use of common information technology functions within DoD.
5. Freeze overall number of required oversight reports, cut by a quarter the money allocated to these reports.
6. Eliminate boards and commissions no longer needed and cut overall funding by 25 percent for these boards and commissions.
7. Immediate 10 percent cut in funding for intelligence advisory and assistance contracts and a freeze in the number of senior executive service positions. Also moving to end needless duplication in the DoD intelligence community.
8. Eliminate the offices of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Network Integration and the Joint Staff’s section for command, control, communications, and computer systems.
9. Eliminate the Business Transformation Agency.
10. Eliminate U.S. Joint Forces Command.
Update # 2
Sec. Gates Announces Efficiencies Initiatives – DoD News Release. Today, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced a series of initiatives designed to reduce overhead, duplication, and excess in the Department of Defense, and, over time, instill a culture of savings and restraint in America’s defense institutions. These initiatives represent the latest of the secretary’s efforts to re-balance the priorities of the department and reform the way the Pentagon does business. As part of the fiscal 2010 budget, the department curtailed or cancelled nearly 20 troubled or excess programs – programs that if pursued to completion would have cost more than $300 billion. Additional program savings have been recommended in the defense budget request submitted this year.
Gates Announces Defense Cuts, Allocates Funds to Priority Needs – Al Pessin, Voice of America. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced the elimination of a major U.S. combat command and other steps designed to save money and protect his department’s ability to defend the country during a time of economic constraints.
Obama Calls Gates Announcement ‘Step Forward in Reform’ – American Forces Press Service. President Barack Obama today called Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ announcement concerning Pentagon efficiency initiatives “another step forward in the reform efforts he has undertaken to reduce excess overhead costs, cut waste, and reform the way the Pentagon does business.” In a written statement, Obama added that the initiatives “will ensure that our nation is safer, stronger, and more fiscally responsible.”
Mullen Issues Statement on Gates Initiatives – American Forces Press Service. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a statement today supporting initiatives announced by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates designed to make the Defense Department more efficient.
Joint Forces Command Responds to Gates Announcement – American Forces Press Service. We all will work to carry out the Secretary’s decision to disestablish Joint Forces Command. There will be much hard work and analysis in the time ahead and we will do the best we can to provide solid data on which to base decisions.
Gates Strives to Change Pentagon’s Culture – Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service. The initiative to reduce Defense Department overhead and to eliminate duplicative capabilities is part of a larger thrust to change the culture of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
Making Good on Pledge, Gates Outlines Military Cuts – Thom Shanker, New York Times
Gates: Pentagon to Cut Thousands of Jobs – Craig Whitlock, Washington Post
Gates’ Budget Ax Swings at Pentagon Overhead, Joint Forces Command – Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor
Gates Orders Cuts in Pentagon Bureaucracy – David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times
Officials: Belt-Tightening Will Cut Major Command – Anne Flaherty and Anne Gearan, Associated Press
Defense Secretary Gates Targets Jobs – Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today
Gates Puts Meat on Bone of Department Efficiencies Initiative – Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
Gates Says Defense Bureaucracy Bloated, Declares Cuts in Contractor Jobs – Viola Gienger, Bloomberg
Gates Announces Major Personnel Cuts at Defense – Katherine McIntire Peters, Government Executive
U.S. Defence Secretary Gates Proposes Officer Corps Cuts – BBC News
Pentagon to Cut Contractor Budget 10 Percent a Year – Agence France-Presse
Webb Expresses Concern about Norfolk Command – Jeff E. Shapiro, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Virginia Stands to Feel the Most Pain from Defense Cuts – Rosalind S. Helderman, Washington Post
Gates will Eliminate Norfolk’s Joint Forces Command – Kate Wiltrout, Virginia-Pilot
Bipartisan Group Blasts Defense Closure Plan – R.E. Spears III, Suffolk News-Herald
Va. Governor, U.S. Reps Condemn Pentagon’s Cuts – Bob Lewis, Business Week
McDonnell Attacks Joint Forces Command Decision – David Macaulay, Newport News Daily Press
Gates to Shut Down Va. Command – Jen Dimascio, Politico
JFCOM to Be Shut Down? – Max Boot, Commentary
The Political Audacity of Bob Gates – Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic
Gates Launches Latest Battle Against waste… and Against Congress – Josh Rogan, Foreign Policy
Pentagon War on Waste: Winners and Losers – Sandra Erwin, Defense News Magazine
‘Culture of Savings and Restraint’ – Colin Clark, DoD Buzz
Odierno Yet Again Asked to Eliminate His Job – Craig Whitlock, Washington Post
