Department Of Defense Appropriations For Fiscal Year 2005 PDF Download

Excerpt from Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2005, Vol. 4: Hearing Before the Committee on Armed Services United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, Second Session on S. 2400; To Authorized Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2005 for Military Activities of the Department of Defense, for Military Construction I value your insight and your commitment to this country. I want to recognize, also, the men and women of our active. Reserve, and National Guard components, supported by civilian employees and contractors, who have been successful in executing military operations around the world in the ongoing war on terrorism. This is proof of the training, equipment, and readiness that you have provided them. Their service and sacrifices, and the sacrifices of their families, are deeply appreciated. I've talked with a number of families who have lost loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. families from Alabama. I've visited our soldiers at Walter Reed, and I know, as you do, the real, personal sacrifice that is being made. Today's hearing is the first of two hearings we will have on Army programs. Our focus this afternoon will be transformation. On March 30, we'll have a hearing on Army aviation, specifically focusing on the termination of the Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter program. It's something that I've had an interest in and supported over the years, and I know Senator Lieberman has as well We will be talking about that and have a full opportunity to discuss it. The Airland Subcommittee has supported the Comanche program in previous budget requests, and we are concerned with the impact of the termination on the future Army capabilities. I have, based on what I know today, decided that this termination is justified, but we will be going into it in more detail as time goes by, and we want to be sure, if there is a termination, that the funds that were allocated to that program will be used to improve Army aviation For fiscal year 2005, the Army requests $98.5 billion, $2.7 billion more than appropriated in fiscal year 2004, and supports the continuation of the Army transformation efforts. Adjusting for the Comanche termination, the Army requests $12.8 billion in procurement, including $905 million for the Stryker vehicles, for the fifth of six Stryker brigades, and $2.7 billion for Army aviation programs, and $9.3 billion in research, development, tests, and evaluation (RDT&E), including $3.2 billion for Future Combat Systems (FCS), a $1.5 billion increase over the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2004. FCS is one of the key programs for the Army transformation to the future force, and we have several questions regarding this program. As I noted earlier, today's hearing will focus on Army transformation. With the new chief of staff, the three axes of Army transformation - the Objective Force, Interim Force, and Legacy Force - have morphed into a current force that is organized, trained, and equipped for joint, interagency, multinational, full-spectrum operations, and a future force and operational force that will be based on network-centric capabilities. This is the Army's fourth year of transformation, and we are interested in hearing the progress the Army has made to date, particularly since they signed the $14.5 billion contract for the system development and demonstration phase of the program. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com