Sequestration Beach for the Pentagon
In connection with the planned end of the war in Afghanistan, the complete withdrawal of American troops from its territory and the need to export from the IWT battlefields in the subcommittee on combat readiness of the Committee on Armed Forces of the House of Representatives, hearings were held on the impact of sequestration on future troops before them the task. Opening the hearings, Chairman of the Subcommittee Robert Whitman, said that the reduction in appropriations does not allow the armed forces to purchase the necessary amount of new equipment and weapons instead of worn out in the course of hostilities and to properly restore and modernize their weapons. There are currently thousands of containers, hundreds of units of military equipment and millions of small units. weapons and military equipment of servicemen waiting for their shipment to America. The 12,2 billion dollars allocated for these purposes, including putting in order and replacing damaged weapons, as the chairman stated, are clearly not enough to solve the task of equipping troops with the necessary means meeting modern requirements. He also expressed concern that continued cuts in the military budget could greatly complicate the repair of combat equipment in service. Due to the fact that the bulk of the hostilities in Afghanistan are conducted by the ground forces and the Marine Corps, parliamentarians listened to the opinions of the generals responsible for combat readiness in their military contingents and equipping them with modern weapons.
PROSPECTS AND WISHES OF ILC
The first at the hearing was the Deputy Commander of the Marine Corps (ILC) on combat readiness, Lieutenant General William Faulkner. The general said that at present, the marines, together with allies and partners, are taking all the necessary measures to transfer responsibility for ensuring the national security of Afghanistan to its armed forces and other security agencies. The KMP expeditionary forces consist of highly maneuverable units whose material support is not dependent on the government of Kabul, but is carried out directly from the United States. However, at the present stage, the combat readiness of the ILC military contingents is completely determined by the scale of cuts in appropriations provided for by sequestration, and the corps command was forced to close funding for measures to ensure the solution of long-term development of forces and assets and to spend the allocated funds only on meeting the current needs of the troops.
Faulkner explained to lawmakers that during the Afghan war, which was taking place in extremely difficult climatic conditions leading to the rapid deterioration of weapons and military equipment, it was imperative for the KMP to develop a ground equipment recovery strategy and to provide the KMP troops with all types of weapons and military equipment, to further enhance their combat readiness and ability We require a level to conduct all combat operations in full.
In order to ensure that the combat ability of the military contingents of the International Maritime Commission does not decrease, it is necessary, as the general said, to allocate all the necessary allocations for the holding of weapons and military equipment to military bases in the United States for another three years after the last marine leaves Afghanistan.
According to Faulkner, during 2012 the command of the ILC reduced the number of troops in Afghanistan and sent about 39 thousand units of military equipment to America. Currently, there is a further export of weapons and military equipment from this country, as well as the phasing out of military bases and weapons depots. After the withdrawal of military units from Afghanistan began in 2011, 72 thousand weapons were sent to the United States. Flight Area aviation The USA over the controlled territories of the country decreased by more than 35 times. Currently, about 60 thousand units of arms and military equipment sent to the American continent are undergoing repair and modernization at three Pentagon plants in the state of California.
The future cuts in the military budget, without any doubt, the general stressed, will have a negative impact on the implementation of the re-equipment strategy for the CMP and ensuring the required level of combat readiness of the forces and assets it contains. In the 2013 fiscal year, the CMP allocated the necessary funds for various activities for the repair and restoration of military equipment. However, these processes were suspended in connection with the six-day unpaid leave of specialists of repair plants and workshops. He also noted that from year to year there is a reduction in the number of IWT service activities. However, from year to year there is a growing need to increase the number and timing of such events. However, due to lack of finance, they cannot be fully implemented, and this leads to a further decrease in operational readiness of weapons and military equipment. If this trend continues in the future, Faulkner announced, this will have an extremely negative impact on the combat readiness of the military units of the ILC.
According to Faulkner, in modern conditions, maintaining alertness at the required level can be carried out only by withdrawing funds allocated for reforming the KMP troops and ensuring a decent standard of living for servicemen and civilian personnel. To maintain the required level of combat readiness of the KMP military equipment, today only 10% of the appropriations allocated to it are spent. In the 2014 fiscal year, it is planned to allocate only 2,67 billion dollars for these purposes, which is significantly less than the funds that other branches of the army should receive for similar purposes. Therefore, there is a very high probability that the operational readiness of IWT ILC will significantly decrease.
In conclusion, General Faulkner said that the required level of combat readiness of the ILC military contingents can only be ensured by maintaining the necessary balance of highly professional specialists, well-trained combat-ready units, upgraded equipment, well-equipped military facilities and the required number of troops needed to solve numerous combat missions on modern stage and perspective. And for this, sufficient funds must be allocated and effective support is needed for legislators, who must once again review the requirements of the sequester and adjust them in a certain way so that the ILC troops are able to remain in combat readiness.
FUTURE OF DRY TROOPS
The position of the Ground Forces (SV) of the USA on the issue of sequestration and the possibilities for maintaining the required level of combat readiness of the troops to parliamentarians was stated by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the NE, Lieutenant General Raymond Mason. As the general stressed, the US Army has been continuously fighting for more than 10 years. And currently in transition. This turning point of the NW building is characterized by significant financial constraints, with a substantial increase in military threats to the US national security and a high level of uncertainty.
Mason said that the army faced great difficulties due to sequestration in the 2013 fiscal year. In the budget of this year, the main items of the appropriations of the Ground Forces were significantly cut, and the likelihood of further and continued reduction of allocations for the construction of the Ground Forces remained high. According to the general, if the sequestration limits are not changed, then 85% army units can completely lose their combat readiness.
The SV leadership believes that it is in a position to withdraw troops and equipment from Afghanistan, as well as to close or convert military bases, which were no longer necessary due to the planned termination of hostilities in that country, by the end of 2014. Zamnachstab noted that the leadership of the army had developed general approaches to carrying out measures for the return of weapons and equipment from Afghanistan to the US, and also provided the necessary powers to certain administrative agencies of the High Command to implement this process. To date, the removal of military equipment from Afghanistan has been carried out periodically and determined by the need for military operations and the training of Afghan troops. Full shipment of military equipment in the United States is scheduled for December 2014.
The removal of military equipment is planned for the Afghan and Pakistan railway and highway routes, as well as through the Russian Federation and some other countries of the former USSR. Part of the military equipment will be transported by air.
At the present time, combat weapons of SV are located in Afghanistan, the total cost of which is about 17 billion dollars. The return of this weapons and military equipment to the continental part of the United States is combined with its repair and modernization, as well as taking into account the funds at the disposal of the army units deployed in America , will allow to bring the required level of combat-ready weapons to 92%.
According to the general, the withdrawal of military equipment and military equipment from Afghanistan should be carried out all the time during which the ground forces will remain in this country and can be completed only three years after the last unit of military equipment leaves its limits. As Mason’s lawmakers explained, the transfer of combat assets includes a set of measures aimed at restoring their combat capabilities to the level required by the troops equipped with them, in order to solve modern and future combat tasks facing them.
Provisions for the redeployment of weapons and military equipment from theaters outside the United States are fully allocated under the heading “Military operations abroad.” The funds received under this item are used to implement the program of re-equipment of combat units of the troops. In accordance with this program, damaged weapons and military equipment samples are replaced by new ones, and equipment, which to a certain extent is worn out as a result of operation in difficult combat conditions or received minor damage, is being repaired and returned to the troops in full readiness for use.
HEAVEN LOSSES OF THE AMERICAN ARMY
According to experts NE, in the financial year 2013, the army had to repair about 100 thousand units of weapons and military equipment from Afghanistan, at their repair plants and in private firms. 600 thousand samples of military equipment had to be brought into a state of operational suitability in the places of their home and storage. However, the level of sequestration of this year forced the army command to postpone all planned measures to restore military equipment for future years, which adversely affected the combat readiness of the Army. Since the opening of the program of re-equipment of the Ground Forces, with the full funding of the measures prescribed in it, the army has been able to maintain the operational readiness of ground-based facilities and aircraft systems in theater at the level of 90 and 75%, respectively. In connection with the sequestration, the Ministry of the Army had to postpone the work planned for 2013 fiscal year to repair and restore tactical wheeled vehicles, communications equipment and some other weapons.
The general also noted that financial uncertainty greatly threatens the ability to maintain the required level of the production base of the Ground Forces, which includes repair shops, warehouses for the supply of troops and storage of military equipment, enterprises for the production of ammunition and artillery weapons, as well as a number of other objects, required to maintain IWT at the required level of operational readiness.
In 2013, due to sequestration, the army’s production base lost more than 4 thousand qualified specialists, including 2,6 thousand employees. This caused significant damage to the SV capabilities to provide combat units with serviceable military equipment.
In conclusion, the general appealed to the members of the subcommittee with a request to revise the norms for reducing the appropriations of the reserves set by sequestration and to maintain the required level of funding for the return of weapons from Afghanistan to the United States for another three years, until the last specimen of weapons and military equipment is removed from this country.
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