July 21, 2006


Given your interest in our Army and your experience and awareness of the challenges facing the Army today, I am writing to express my concern about funding for the Army.
Recently on Capitol Hill, the Army Chief of Staff made a very interesting point, given the ongoing Hezbollah-Hamas-Israeli fights, that “we’re closer to the beginning than we are to the end of all of this.”

I don’t want to put words in the Chief’s mouth, but if the Global War on Terrorism began with the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, perhaps this is the “long war” the Department of Defense is thinking about. It could well dominate this century—with the Lebanon-Israel 2006 fighting and Iraq-Afghanistan fighting as campaigns of that “long war.”

The duration of the war on terrorism is difficult to predict, but I believe that without a more focused, robust funding stream the Army and Marines—already experiencing readiness challenges—will not be prepared for the long haul suggested by the Chief of Staff. Adding the enormous amounts of money the Army needs for repair, recapitalization and replacement of equipment used in the current conflict only compounds the need for appropriate funding.

Spending less than 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product on defense and allocating only 23–24 percent of the defense Total Obligational Authority to the Army (admittedly an administration and Department of Defense issue rather than a congressional one) is wide of the mark. I fear that once again those who carry the heavy load—Soldiers and Marines—are being shortchanged.

The challenges facing the Army in this war are formidable. I believe the only way the Army can continue this fight at a level up to its potential is with consistent long-term fiscal support.

I urge you to give your fullest attention to this complex issue, and I assure you that AUSA stands ready to assist the Congress as it addresses these challenges.

GORDON R. SULLIVAN
General, USA Retired