(Amerika) Streitkräfte der USA - allg. Sammelthread

[revan]

Heute habe ich gleich zwei Lesenswerte Links der erste ist der Verteidigungshaushaltsvorschlag für FY10 und der andere widme sich den FCS bzw. dem Ende des FCS Programmes und dessen Gründe.


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/06/25/sasc-oks-more-f-22s/">http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/06/25/sasc-oks-more-f-22s/</a><!-- m -->

.......MARKUP HIGHLIGHTS

This year’s bill includes important bipartisan legislation addressing detainees. The legislation provides new language for the Military Commissions Act to address a series of issues including the use of coerced testimony and hearsay evidence in a manner intended to achieve greater balance, ensure that convictions can be upheld on appeal, and improve the credibility of the military commissions system.

The Senate Armed Services Committee observed the following seven priorities to guide its work on the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization bill:

1. Provides fair compensation and first rate health care, addresses the needs of the wounded, ill, and injured, and improves the quality of life of the men and women of the all-volunteer force (active duty, National Guard and Reserves) and their families.

· Authorizes $163.5 billion for military personnel, including costs of pay, allowances, bonuses, death benefits, permanent change of station moves, and health care.

· Authorizes a 3.4 percent across-the-board pay raise, 0.5 percent above the budget request and the annual rise in the Employment Cost Index.

· Authorizes fiscal year 2010 active-duty end strengths for the Army of 547,400; the Marine Corps, 202,100; the Air Force, 331,700; and the Navy, 328,800.

· Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to increase the Army’s active-duty end strength by 30,000 above 2010 levels during fiscal years 2011 and 2012 if sufficient funding is requested in the budgets for those fiscal years.

· Requires the establishment of a task force to assess the effectiveness of the policies and programs developed to assist and support the care, management, and transition of recovering wounded, ill, and injured service members.

· Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan by September 30, 2013 to increase the number of military and civilian behavioral health personnel of DOD and to consider the feasibility of additional officer and enlisted specialties as behavioral health counselors.

· Increases the authorization for the Homeowners Assistance Program by $350 million. This program was recently enhanced by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Public Law 111-5) and now provides relief to homeowners who are military services members, wounded warriors, surviving spouses, and defense civilian employees who are forced to relocate because of Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or permanent change of station orders.

· Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Navy to operate jointly the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago and Great Lakes, Illinois.

· Extends eligibility for TRICARE Standard to gray area retirees.

2. Provides our servicemen and women with the resources, training, technology, equipment (especially force protection), and authorities they need to succeed in combat and stability operations.

· Provides $6.7 billion for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Fund, including an increase of $1.2 billion above the President’s budget request for MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV), which will be deployed to Afghanistan.

· Provides $179 million for Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2). This unfunded requirement was identified by the Army Chief of Staff.

· Provides full funding at the budget request level for most programs, including: Carrier Replacement Program: Virginia-class submarine; DDG-1000; DDG-51; Littoral Combat Ship (LCS); V-22; and the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft.

· Provides $1.75 billion for buying seven F-22A aircraft, rather than terminating the production program as requested by the Department.

· Provides an additional $560 million to buy 18 F/A-18E/F aircraft, rather than nine aircraft as requested, and authorizes the full request for 22 EA-18G aircraft.

· Provides $438.9 million to continue development of the F136 Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine.

3. Enhances the capability of the armed forces to conduct counterinsurgency operations and applies the lessons of Iraq to Afghanistan, as appropriate.

· Funds fully the President’s budget request for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and adds $131.7 million for unfunded requirements identified by the Commander of USSOCOM.

· Provides the Administration’s full request for nearly $7.5 billion to train and equip the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

· Provides significant funding for the Commanders’ Emergency Response Program (CERP) in Iraq and Afghanistan to enable Commanders to fund quickly humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects and authorizes using CERP funds to support the Afghanistan National Solidarity Program to promote Afghan-led local development.

· Clarifies that the Department’s “train and equip” authority allows efforts to build the capacity of coalition partners in Iraq and Afghanistan to conduct stabilization operations and special operations.

· Establishes conditions for DOD’s use of the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund, to be resourced with up to $700 million transferred from the State Department, to build the capacity of the Pakistan Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army to conduct counterinsurgency operations.

· Extends for one year the authority for the DOD to support State Department programs for security and stabilization assistance.

4. Improves the ability of the armed forces to counter nontraditional threats, including terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

· Provides full funding for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) in the Overseas Contingency Operations component of the budget request.

· Provides an additional $20 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (CTR) and limited additional authorities to the CTR program and the Nonproliferation Program at DOE to utilize funding notwithstanding any other provision of law.

· Funds fully the President’s $1.57 billion budget request for Chemical and Biological Defense programs.

· Adds $50 million for a mobile maritime sensor development program to provide options for the Navy in meeting its sea-based missile defense requirements.

· Requires preparation of an interagency plan for nuclear forensics and attribution.

· Authorizes budget request for the addition of $700 million to field additional THAAD and Standard Missile-3 theater missile defense systems.

· Authorizes budget request for the addition of $200 million for conversion of six additional Aegis ships for missile defense capabilities.

5. Seeks to reduce our Nation’s strategic risk by taking action aimed at restoring, as soon as possible, the readiness of the military services to conduct the full range of their assigned missions.

· Fully funds readiness and depot maintenance programs as requested to ensure that forces preparing to deploy are trained and their equipment is ready.

· Adds $16 million for tactical gear and clothing upgrades to the Army and Marine Corps.

Adds $250 million for construction projects for the National Guard and Reserves.

Adds $25 million for the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative to enhance funding of priority projects to protect critical mission training sites by preventing or reducing encroachment through the creation of compatible-use buffer zones.

6. Terminates troubled programs and activities, improves efficiencies, and applies the savings to higher-priority programs.

· Future Combat System Manned Ground Vehicle (MGV)—Reallocates $323.6 million of excess termination liability funds to other Army research, development, test, and evaluation (RDTE) efforts in support of a new ground combat vehicle program including vehicle modernization and survivability research, advanced tank armament systems, medium and heavy tactical vehicle development, and combat vehicle manufacturing technology.

· Future Combat System Non-Line of Sight-Cannon (NLOS-C)—Reallocates $58.2 million of excess termination liability to the Paladin Integration Management (PIM) program to accelerate the upgrade and modernization of the M109A6 Paladin 155mm self-propelled howitzer that will increase the Paladin’s performance and reliability, reduce life cycle costs, and address electronic obsolescence issues to meet the Army’s needs to 2050.

Reduces funding by $235 million for facilities at Army installations now not required because of the reduction in Army BCTs from 48 to 45.

Reduces funding by $270 million for Navy construction on Guam that has not yet been fully justified.

· Reduces $209.5 million for C-130 avionics modernization program (AMP) due to delays in beginning the production program.

· Reduces funding for one of two T-AKE auxiliary ships (-$400.0 million) in the budget request, pending Quadrennial Defense Review of the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future) requirements.

· Reduces funding for procurement of UH-1/AH-1 Marine Corps helicopters by $282.9 million to keep production at the fiscal year 2009 level.

· Provides authority for temporary reduction in aircraft carrier force levels, as requested by DOD. Otherwise, the Navy would have had to spend more than $1 billion to extend the service life of USS Enterprise.

· Terminates the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) program, which had significant technical challenges and was not consistent with the Secretary’s missile defense policy guidance.

· Terminates the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program, which had serious technology, affordability, and operational problems.

· Cancels the second Airborne Laser (ABL), and refocuses the ABL program as a technology research effort. The ABL had significant affordability and technology problems and the program’s proposed operational role was highly questionable.

7. Ensures aggressive and thorough oversight of the Department’s programs and activities to ensure proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars and compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

· Requires the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) to conduct an assessment of the technological maturity and integration risks of Army modernization programs.

· Enhances the ability of the DOD Inspector General (IG) to conduct audits and investigations by authorizing the IG to subpoena witnesses to provide testimony, subject to the approval of the Department of Justice.

· Reduces costs incurred to acquire and store unneeded inventory by requiring DOD to develop a comprehensive plan to address longstanding problems in its inventory management systems.

· Addresses abusive sole-source contracts by requiring DOD to justify all sole-source contract awards in excess of $20 million in value.

· Requires that DOD treat the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP).

· Requires that the Navy conduct certain analyses before committing any funds to buy a future surface combatant after fiscal year 2011.

· Improves DOD financial management by requiring the Department to engage in business process reengineering before acquiring new information technology systems and submit regular reports on its progress toward auditable financial statements.

· Places a moratorium on public-private competitions under OMB Circular A-76 until DOD complies with an existing statutory requirement to develop an inventory of activities performed by service contractors that is needed for DOD to manage its service contractors, plan for its civilian employee workforce, and identify functions that should be subject to public-private competition.

· Directs Government Accountability Office to oversee implementation of the Environmental Management American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

A full summary of the bill is available at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://armed-services.senate.gov/press.htm">http://armed-services.senate.gov/press.htm</a><!-- m -->.

MARKUP DETAILS

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

The Senate Armed Services Committee identified the following seven priorities to guide its work on the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization bill:

1. Provide fair compensation and first-rate health care, address the needs of the wounded, ill, and injured, and improve the quality of life of the men and women of the all-volunteer force (active duty, National Guard and Reserves) and their families.

2. Provide our servicemen and women with the resources, training, technology, equipment (especially force protection), and authorities they need to succeed in combat and stability operations.

3. Enhance the capability of the armed forces to conduct counterinsurgency operations and apply the lessons of Iraq to Afghanistan, as appropriate.

4. Improve the ability of the armed forces to counter nontraditional threats, including terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

5. Seek to reduce our Nation’s strategic risk by taking action aimed at restoring, as soon as possible, the readiness of the military services to conduct the full range of their assigned missions.

6. Terminate troubled programs and activities, improve efficiencies, and apply the savings to higher-priority programs.

7. Ensure aggressive and thorough oversight of the Department’s programs and activities to ensure proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars and compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

FUNDING LEVELS

The total funding in the bill reported by the committee is $679.8 billion which is slightly below the President’s budget request of $680.2 billion for discretionary programs in the jurisdiction of the committee

The President’s budget request for FY 2010 had two major parts. The first was $550.2 billion in budget authority in the base budget for the DOD and defense programs in DOE.

The second part was $130 billion in budget authority for overseas contingency operations, most of which funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The President’s budget request for national defense, which includes items that are not in the jurisdiction of the committee and mandatory programs, was $693.1 billion as re-estimated by the Congressional Budget Office. The committee bill is consistent with this level with the exception that it does not include the administration’s concurrent receipt proposal as the proposed offsets were not in the jurisdiction of the committee.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL

Subcommittee Chairman Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC), continued to focus the Personnel Subcommittee’s attention on improving recruiting and retention, and providing top quality health care, military family readiness and support, and quality of life programs for military and civilian personnel of DOD. The subcommittee included the following funding and legislative provisions:

End Strength

· Authorizes fiscal year 2010 active-duty end strengths for the Army of 547,400; the Marine Corps, 202,100; the Air Force, 331,700; and the Navy, 328,800.

· Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to increase the Army’s active-duty end strength by 30,000 above 2010 levels during fiscal years 2011 and 2012 if sufficient funding is requested in the budgets for those fiscal years.

· Requires the Secretary of the Army to submit a report to Congress describing the utilization of non-dual status technicians.......

Der Artikel ist sehr umfassend und nennt alle Relevanten Ausgaben und Projekte für FY10 sollte daher gelesen werden auch wenn es noch nicht die Endgültige Form ist, normalerweise ändert sich nicht mehr viel daran beim Weg durch den Senat.


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20090626.aspx">http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/ ... 90626.aspx</a><!-- m -->

Hier dagegen geht es um das FCS ein sehr schön geschriebener Artikel auch wenn ich persönlich manch einer Schlussfolgerung nicht zustimme.

FCS Died For Our Sins

June 26, 2009: On June 23rd, the U.S. Army announced the official cancellation of its FCS (Future Combat Systems). This was a program of next generation weapons, vehicles and other equipment that was going to cost over $160 billion. The cancellation was no surprise. A year ago, the army dropped any pretence of trying to roll out its new FCS stuff as a complete package. That's mainly because the Department of Defense had ordered that FCS items be readied for combat use as soon as possible. The future will arrive piecemeal, as had been actually happening ever since September 11, 2001, and especially since early 2003.

When the Cold War ended in 1991, the army took stock and decided that its future combat vehicles would be smaller and lighter, relying more on missiles, better communications and lots of electronic gadgets. All this was called FCS, and it would change everything. Then came 2003, and three American divisions invaded Iraq and, within three weeks, had seized Baghdad and conquered the country. When the dust had settled, and the battles were carefully examined, it was discovered that the key to rapid victory were the "obsolete" M-1 tanks and M-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, doing what they were designed to do.

This didn't faze the FCS developers, for the 20-30 ton FCS vehicles could have done the same thing. The key was being resistant to the RPG rockets, which the M-1 and M-2 were. But that got people thinking. We got all these M-1s and M-2s, and money is tight, and the FCS crowd are asking for over $100 billion to buy new armored vehicles that might not be as effective. Why not just keep upgrading the armor we got, and we know works? This bold idea, reeking of practicality and thrift, received a cool reception. The FCS proponents had spent years of effort to get enough political support for the money to start flowing. And now these retards, with their experience in Iraq, want to face the future with refurbs? The "retards", in the end, had the stronger argument.

The FCS was seen as a breakthrough system. Actually, it's over fifty systems (depending on how you count them), and a lot of technologies that haven't been invented yet. Many in the army were unsure about how FCS would do in combat. This "tried and true" crew responded with an offer to try out each of the new technologies as they become available. Whenever that might be. Eventually, the brass at the Pentagon agreed with this. Meanwhile, FCS faced a more formidable problem than reality checks after 2003; lack of money. Not only was Iraq reminding everyone how well existing armor works, but it sucked up the billions that FCS was hoping to feast on......