DoD Defends Readiness Record

 

 By Jim Garamone
 
American Forces Press Service


 WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2000 -- People wanting to know if 
 U.S. forces are ready "should ask Saddam Hussein," said 
 Defense Secretary William S. Cohen Sept. 7.
 
 Cohen, visiting Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, said 
 the United States has the best forces in the world. 
 
 "I think we should ask [Iraqi dictator] Saddam Hussein 
 whether or not [U.S.] forces were ready to carry out 
 Operation Desert Fox," Cohen said. "I think we should ask 
 [Serbian President Slobodan] Milosevic as to whether or not 
 we were ready to carry out the Allied Force operation in 
 Kosovo."
 
 Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said during a Pentagon press 
 conference Sept. 7 that the United States is spending close 
 to $300 billion per year on national defense. "It's more 
 than all our NATO allies combined are spending," he said. 
 
 Bacon said the military could always spend more, but that 
 "the military and civilian leadership has worked very hard 
 in the last several years to meet the needs of the 
 military."
 
 Bacon cited recent pay hikes, pay table reform and 
 revamping the military retirement system as examples of 
 DoD's efforts to make military careers more attractive.
 
 Recruiting has been a problem for the services, but Bacon 
 said these personnel changes seem to be working and noted 
 all four services will make their fiscal 2000 recruiting 
 goals.
 
 Bacon also said DoD has devoted $60 billion to 
 modernization in the fiscal 2001 budget, up from $43 
 billion in fiscal 1998. Modernization is not only 
 accomplished through new equipment, but also through new 
 ideas. Bacon described the Air Force unmanned aerial 
 vehicle programs as ways to gather intelligence and place 
 it in the hands of those who need it quickly. 
 
 He spoke about the Army's efforts to make the service 
 lighter, more mobile and more lethal. The Navy is looking 
 at ways to make ships more modern and more lethal with 
 fewer sailors aboard. "We're working on a variety of 
 projects," Bacon said. "This takes time. It requires a lot 
 of investment, but we won't see the results immediately."
 
 Responding to reporters' questions about troops on food 
 stamps, Bacon said that unfortunately some people in the 
 military qualify for them, but the number is dropping. A 
 total of 19,400 service members received food stamps in 
 1991. "Today we estimate that there are 5,100 people on 
 food stamps," Bacon said. He noted that DoD has asked 
 Congress for authority to take over the program for active 
 duty service members. By not considering housing allowances 
 as income, which the Agriculture Department does, DoD could 
 actually increase the number of service members eligible 
 for assistance by 2,500 to 2,800.
 
 Bacon also pointed to another indicator of readiness -- 
 operations and maintenance funding. "The amount of spending 
 per active-duty soldier, sailor, airman and Marine has 
 increased by 20 percent in real terms in the last decade," 
 he said. The number went from just over $50,000 in 1992 to 
 more than $60,000 in fiscal 2001.
 
 
 

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