Readiness
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Troops start the new year with a 1 percent pay raise. That's a little less than the 1.8 percent raise they would have gotten automatically from the annual cost of living adjustment. A study on pay and benefits from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is due next month. Vice Adm. Norb Ryan is president of the Military Officers Association of America. He says some kind of reform is long overdue. He shared his Top 3 for 2015 on In Depth with Francis Rose. He says morale is still a top priority for the military, even with fewer commitments in Afghanistan.
January 06, 2015 -
The military has made some progress in reversing the training and maintenance shortfalls it underwent when sequestration first took hold in 2013. But Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said those gains will quickly reverse themselves if Congress lets the budget caps return next year.
November 13, 2014 -
Pentagon officials say the military services have made some progress in restoring readiness since the initial onset of sequestration caused a "readiness crisis." But they say gains made will go out the window if the budget is cut once again next year. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the story.
November 12, 2014 -
After eight months on the job, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin that even though the service is in good shape, it still faces uncertainty around its budget, overseas operations and readiness.
September 17, 2014 -
The Air Force can't afford the programs it thinks it will need over the next decade. The service's top officer says it's time to reexamine priorities, with a realistic view of the funding it will get from Congress.
September 17, 2014 -
Robert Work, the new deputy defense secretary, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department will experience a two-year trough in readiness as it resets its force,
July 16, 2014 -
The Army says it is now replacing funds in its readiness accounts that were depleted when cuts under sequestration first kicked in a year ago. But last year's readiness problems are likely to repeat in 2016 and beyond if Congress allows the automatic Defense cuts in current law to persist.
March 26, 2014 -
The Air Force says it won't fully recover from its readiness shortfalls for another decade.
March 17, 2014 -
Air Force officials say their service already was facing readiness issues because of the high operational tempo of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But sequestration worsened the problems, and continuing the budget caps will set back a readiness recovery.
March 17, 2014 -
Air Force leaders intend to surpass their share of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's edict to reduce DoD headquarters spending by 20 percent and complete the task several years ahead of schedule. The personnel cuts are part of the service's plan to shrink its size in order to catch up with decades of deferred spending on readiness and modernization.
March 03, 2014 -
The Pentagon says its spending plan acknowledges defense spending is on a downward trajectory, and reduces force structure in order to balance other priorities such as readiness. If sequestration stays in place, the calculus will change, Defense officials say.
February 25, 2014 -
Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said while the budget agreement adds money back to DoD's overall spending capacity in 2014 and 2015, the deal still doesn't plug holes in the Pentagon's research funding. Kendall estimated R&D funding will drop by as much as 20 percent compared to the department's initial requests.
January 16, 2014 -
Top Air Force officials say lower budgets will force them to propose cuts Congress won't like. But if lawmakers insist on protecting politically-favored programs, money will have to come from somewhere else.
December 16, 2013 -
The Air Force's acting top official says even if sequestration is repealed, the service has an imbalance between its personnel costs and the money it must spend to keep its force trained and ready. Unfortunately, the Air Force may not have any trouble getting airmen to leave the service voluntarily.
November 15, 2013 -
Retired Adm. John Harvey, former commander of the Fleet Forces Command, joins Francis Rose.
November 06, 2013