ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

From expanding benefits to modernizing its combat forces, the National Guard continues to prioritize its people after a challenging year, the component’s top general said. 

“What does the future look like for our National Guard? What are our priorities going forward? They’re … people, readiness, modernization and reform,” said Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau.

In a new Association of the U.S. Army policy paper, former acting Army Secretary John Whitley highlights the dangers to the Army and the nation from ignoring ground warfare capabilities. 

He’s concerned that current planning and budgeting overlook the vital role ground forces, particularly the U.S. Army, have played in past conflicts and will likely play in the future. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised fellow Republicans he would roll back federal spending to 2020 levels, which would require a $130 billion cut, or an 8% reduction, in annual appropriations. 

Defense spending is not specifically targeted, but McCarthy and others have spoken of reshaping defense spending and paying for new capabilities and programs by making cuts in other areas. Reducing the federal civilian workforce supporting defense also has been mentioned by lawmakers without providing specifics. 

Predictive maintenance on military weapons systems is already showing great value, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

“According to the Army, the use of predictive maintenance helped the Army avoid four serious aircraft accidents,” according to the December report.

The Association of the U.S. Army has joined several other military and veterans’ groups to urge Congress to pass a full-year budget for fiscal 2023.

“Our nation faces many threats, and our uniformed services operate in a very challenging environment,” the groups say in Dec. 8 letters to leading lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives. “The numerous demands on the uniformed services are complicated by the impact of inflation which erodes purchasing power.” 

A compromise $857.9 billion defense policy bill edging toward congressional approval includes an additional $45 billion above the Pentagon’s request to offset the effects of inflation while also allowing the acceleration of transformative weapons and programs.

The measure includes a 4.6% raise for uniformed and civilian workers and expands allowances for lower ranking service members as part of a Basic Needs Allowance.

Exercises and training, as well as hundreds of new programs and projects, will be disrupted or on hold if the military is forced to continue operating without a fiscal 2023 budget, officials said.

“Spending will be limited to last year’s levels and priorities, imposing significant fiscal and managerial constraints on the Department,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. 

With more than 200,000 buildings on its installations around the world, the Army faces a maintenance backlog worth several billion dollars, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. 

The report, which analyzed 49,000 of those buildings in use on 88 Army installations across the U.S., estimates that “the cost of eliminating the deferred maintenance backlog and returning the buildings to the Army’s standards would be about $19 billion.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is urging lawmakers to pass a full-year budget for fiscal 2023, warning that “failure to do so will result in significant harm to our people and our programs.”

The military and the rest of the federal government are operating under a stopgap measure that expires Dec. 16. Known as a continuing resolution, the measure allows federal programs to continue at current spending levels and prohibits the start of new programs.