Stable funding key to recovering from readiness decline, DOD officials say

By Jim Garamone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity, March 31, 2017

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WASHINGTON -- The services need money, manpower, time and consistency to recover military readiness, Defense Department officials told a Senate panel here Thursday.

Five witnesses from all services told the Senate Armed Services Committee's readiness and management support subcommittee that DOD's organic industrial infrastructure has suffered as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which put sequestration spending cuts in place, and the lack of stable, consistent funding.

Lt. Gen. Larry D. Wyche, deputy commander of Army Materiel Command; Vice Adm. Paul A. Grosklags, commander of Naval Air Systems Command; Vice Adm. Thomas J. Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command; Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael G. Dana, deputy commandant for installations and logistics; and Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II, commander of Air Force Materiel Command's Air Force Sustainment Center, testified at the subcommittee hearing.

This is not a new revelation, as many of the lawmakers acknowledged, noting that the military had no choice but to use readiness accounts to maintain the current level of operations. That, combined with increased operations around the world, has created a backlog of maintenance that will take years to eliminate, all five officers told the Senate panel.

To read more, please visit: https://www.army.mil/article/185262/stable_funding_key_to_recovering_from_readiness_decline_dod_offi...