To default or not default…why was that even a question? But finally the debt crisis was resolved, the can has been kicked forward yet one more time, and within minutes after the vote, our brave senators and congressmen & women fled Washington to explain to their infuriated constituents how it was all the fault of the other side.

Lost in the shuffle was Adm Mike Mullin’s Q & A from Camp Leatherneck, where the majority of the questions he fielded from the Marines had to do with them wanting to know if they were going to get paid next week? You will, Devil Dog, but not because of any intrinsic love or respect for you by our elected officials.

An integral part of the new bill is that the defense budget increases will be cut by some $ 350 billion over the next 10 years, with an additional $ 500 billion in cuts if some future bi-partisan negotiating fails. So the question stands: will the $ 350 – 850 billion in a reduced budget weaken America’s military?

It should not, but the entrenched corporate and Pentagon bureaucracies may claim differently.

This year the defense budget is $ 689 billion (a base of $ 529, plus $ 160 for Iraq-Afghanistan), and it’s worth noting that in 2010 the defense budget was larger than the next 18 countries in the world – combined. The DoD has had 13 years of unquestioned budget increases. There is no lack of funds – but there is a lack of direction and urgency as to how these funds are being spent. A few examples:

• The new Navy supercarrier is projected to cost some $ 13 billion EACH…excluding the costs of the seamen, airplanes, and support ships necessary to support it. And each carrier it will replace is already stronger than any other carrier in the world today.
• The LCS (littoral combat ship). They refuse to say how much each ship costs, but estimates are now $ 400 million each…up from $ 50 million initial projection…and they want to purchase 55…while neither of the two ships built are yet operational one of which remains sidelined for ‘excess galvanic corrosion.” They built a ship that’s been sidelined for rust before it enters the fleet?? Clearly the program needs rethinking- even Sen John McCain (Navy) wants it terminated.
• Navy shipyard management: In addition to costing 3x as much as projected, the new San Antonio class amphibious assault ships have suffered from bent propeller shafts, breaking engine mounts, and leaking well decks. These aren’t issues of high-technology that’s being developed; these are issues of a lack of basic machine shop skills – like welding and cutting steel. It’d be cheaper to keep the existing amphibs operational and pay the shipyard workers to stay home.
• The F-22. Some 160 in the Air Force arsenal – have never flown in combat (Iraq-Afghanistan-Libya), the entire fleet is “indefinitely grounded” since May of this year – all at the cost of $ 78 billion. Be nice to have this money back!
• Currently being negotiated is whether US troops will stay in Iraq past this year…if in fact the Iraqi government agrees…how about making them pay?

But the devil is in the fine print: it seems the $ 350-850 billion is not exactly DoD cuts, but rather “security cuts”, meaning the budgets of Homeland Security, the State Dept, Veterans Affairs and USAID are at risk. So in the final analysis, the Pentagon budget will be remain untouched - a shame really, because if the choice next year comes down to funding yet another rusting LCS, repairing an unneeded F-22, or the VA, it’s the veteran who will most likely suffer – and that’s before retirement plans and Tricare is discussed.

And I wouldn’t plan on a military pay raise anytime soon, either.