2010 Pentagon Budget Released… High Tech Weapons and Gays are Big Losers

Defense Secretary Robert Gates... Presenting FY 2010 DOD budget April 6th

It has been 77 days with no official action taken on LGBT issues as promised by the Obama Administration during the election…

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has announced a 2010 Pentagon budget that that he says reflects major changes in the “scope and significance” of Defense Department priorities and asked Congress to “rise above parochial interests and consider what is in the best interests of the nation as a whole.”

“This is a reform budget, reflecting lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Gates said. “There’s no question that a lot of these decisions will be controversial.”

In a televised press briefing from the Pentagon yesterday, Gates set his priorities to a stronger institutional commitment to the military all-volunteer force, a decision to “re-balance” defense programs to better fight current and future conflicts, and “fundamental overhauls” of the military procurement, acquisition and contracting process.

“Every defense dollar spent to over-insure against a remote or diminishing risk is a dollar not available to take care of our people, reset the force, win the wars we are in,” Gates said.

The proposed Gates fiscal year 2010 Defense Department budget is almost $534 billion, or nearly $664 billion when including the costs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current Pentagon budget totals slightly over $513 billion, or almost $655 billion including the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. It is the largest defense budget, adjusted for inflation, since World War II.

The Gates budget cuts targeted missile defense programs, the Army’s expensive Future Combat Systems and several Navy shipbuilding programs. The 2010 budget would also eliminate such controversial programs as building a new presidential helicopter fleet and a new communications satellite system, delaying the development of a new bomber, ending the production of the C-17 transport plane and would order only four more of the advanced F-22 fighter jets, capping the number of the $150 million combat plane at 187. However Gates promised to speed the testing of another fighter, the F-35, and maintained plans to eventually buy 2,443 of these planes.

The Defense Secretary also said he plans to increase the size of the Army and the Marine Corps, while halting reductions in Air Force and Navy personnel. Gates said he wants to put more money into adding 2,800 more Special Forces troops, intelligence gathering and surveillance capacities, as well as personnel growth in the military services, which Gates said are at risk of “hollowing” because of attrition. He also would pump new money into medical and psychological treatment.

These initiatives will also include training and equipping foreign militaries to undertake counter-terrorism and stability operations, Gates said.

“We must constantly guard against so-called ‘requirements creep,’ validate the maturity of technology at milestones, fund programs to independent cost estimates and demand stricter contract terms and conditions,” Gates said, “Every defense dollar is precious. Money spent to “over-insure against a remote or diminishing risk is a dollar not available to take care of our people, reset the force, win the wars we are in and improve capabilities in areas where we are underinvested and potentially vulnerable.”

Our Pentagon sources have told us Mr. Gates hopes to impose a new culture on the Pentagon – making the system more flexible and responsive to the needs of the troops in the way it chooses and buys weapons as well as better addressing staffing and personnel welfare needs.

Our Pentagon sources have also told us that funds have been set-aside in this budget for enforcement of Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell and no efforts at requesting its repeal will be made in FY 2010 by the Pentagon.

Over 12,000 service members have been booted from the military since Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell took effect, including dozens of Arabic speakers whose skills are particularly prized in military intelligence circles.

In January, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs when asked if the new administration going to get rid of the “Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell policy” … looked into the camera and unequivocally said… “You don’t hear a politician give a one-word answer much. But it’s, ‘Yes.’”

Since Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that, 11 more people have been kicked out of the military because of Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell… people that included military intelligence specialists and Special Forces troops.

Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell has been proved to be a bad law. But for some reason, President Obama has decided to forget his promise to end the policy and let it stand as he kicks out valuable people from the military.

A 2006 University of California Blue Ribbon Commission report determined that the total cost of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” between Fiscal Years 1994 and 2003, from training personnel who are subsequently discharged, was at least $363.8 million. It would seem to many that if you were looking to increase the size and quality of the force, funding a policy that boots out high quality troops is pretty wasteful use of “precious” defense dollars.

And we as gay taxpayers should let Mr. Obama and Mr. Gates know this…

Don’t think we are not keeping score, Brother… Yes WE Are….

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