Army Equipment Costs to Triple

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Army's Equipment Costs to Triple
Associated Press | June 27, 2006
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WASHINGTON - The annual cost of replacing, repairing and upgrading Army equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to more than triple next year to more than $17 billion, according to Army documents obtained by the Associated Press.


From 2002 to 2006, the Army spent an average of $4 billion a year in annual equipment costs. But as the war takes a harder toll on the military, that number is projected to balloon to more than $12 billion for the federal budget year that starts next Oct. 1, the documents show.

The $17 billion also includes an additional $5 billion in equipment expenses that the Army requested in previous years but has not yet been provided.
The latest costs include the transfer of more than 1,200 2 1/2-ton trucks, nearly 1,100 Humvees and $8.8 million in other equipment from the U.S. Army to the Iraqi security forces.

Army and Marine Corps leaders are expected to testify before Congress Tuesday and outline the growing costs of the war - with estimates that it will cost between $12 billion and $13 billion a year for equipment repairs, upgrades and replacements from now on.

The Marine Corps has said in recent testimony before Congress that it would need nearly $12 billion to replace and repair all the equipment worn out or lost to combat in the past four years. So far, the Marines have received $1.6 billion toward those costs to replace and repair the equipment.
According to the Army, the $17 billion includes:

-$2.1 billion in equipment that must be replaced because of battle losses.
-About $6.5 billion for repairs.
-About $8.4 billion to rebuild or upgrade equipment.

One of the growing costs is the replacement of Humvees, which are wearing out more quickly because of the added armor they are carrying to protect Soldiers from roadside bombs. The added weight is causing them to wear out faster, decreasing the life of the vehicles.

Congress has provided about $21 billion for equipment costs in emergency supplemental budget bills from 2002-06. All the war equipment expenses have been funded through those emergency bills, and not in the regular fiscal-year budgets.

Pentagon officials have estimated that such emergency bills would have to continue two years beyond the time the U.S. pulls out of Iraq in order to fully replace, repair and rebuild all of the needed equipment.

The push for additional equipment funding comes after the House last week passed a $427 billion defense spending bill for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, which includes $50 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. A separate $66 billion emergency funding bill for the two wars was approved earlier in the month.

War-related costs since 2001 are approaching half a trillion dollars.

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,102981,00.html
 
By driving ourselves into even more debt, so my generation (and following generations) can foot the bill down the road.
 
Maytime said:
By driving ourselves into even more debt, so my generation (and following generations) can foot the bill down the road.
Wonderful...Did you know that Brazil has the most national debt in the world?
 
Just thinking about it, do you know what I could do with 17 billion dollars? I could probably buy the state of Alabama...LOL


On a serious note, what will we do if Iran starts to get into it with us?
 
Would somebody explain the logic of cutting taxes twice (and possible a third time next year) and at the same time fight 2 different wars?

I dont think its ever been done in the History of the world, It just dont make any darn sense...
 
Cutting taxes dramatically is a throwback to the Reagan era (i.e. Reaganomics), which was used to jumpstart the economy in a regression or bad run. The cuts supposedly work by the fact that everyone should theoretically have loads of extra disposable income that they don't have to give to the government, and they can pump it into goods and services, making everyone happy. here it comes...

BUT, taxes are being cut for the wrong people (i.e. rich folk and big business), and not for the lower income brackets, where the effect would be more meaningful and tangible, since rich people will always have money, no matter how much taxes they pay. Money finds a way into their pockets anyway, legal or otherwise.

The other end of the political spectrum would have the government spend more and tax more. I wrote a post a while back about how depression-era government spending brought the economy back by providing jobs to people who couldn't find work in the private sector, and created the "Alphabet Soup" style of bureaucracy we so cherish.

Sorry for that history lesson, but the reason the administration would want to cut taxes is probably a political statement, saying that, "we are Republicans, we believe in small government." There's nothing wrong with that, but I could be wrong.

$0.02
 
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National Debt will always be there. It's one of the few things that we can never escape.

The other two are taxes and death. I think the Grim Reaper and the IRS work hand in hand.
 
I get a distinct feeling that this administration doesn't realize that money isn't infinite. They cut taxes to gain votes, they spend more and more money on war, because they deem it right to do. They can't be everybody's friend and the money is going to run out.... Doesn't this worry you? Untill now, only Missileer hints at future trouble. Who'll end up paying the bill, while they are running along being "patriottic" and ruining the countries economy?
 
You must remember much of the equipment has been around for years, and now that it is in action the wear and tear on it is brining it to a far quicker end. Also there has been a large amount of upgrading to body armour for the soldiers. Then there are Hummers which have proved to be infective in Iraq and they are being replacedor upgraded.
 
Up-armored vehicles are deteriorating at a huge rate from all the extra weight. Imagine your truck loaded with an extra half ton of steel, and running day and night. A few of my unit's dumptrucks had to be left in the desert; granted they were over 15 years old, but our mechanics couldn't keep up with the breakdowns. We "borrowed" some from the Air Force to use CONUS :)
 
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Actually, tax cuts, within reason, theoretically helps the Government, not the party in office. If taxes are lowered, putting more money at the people's disposal, then spending for large items and durables goes up and into the Government coffers as sales tax. Try not to think of tax cuts to one guy, it won't be clear. Think of more disposable income for the entire country and the consuming of products being the cash cow for government. If people don't spend, there is a slump in the amount of taxes taken in by the Government. There is actually no such animal as a tax cut, it's just that the Government doesn't take as much from you as they normally would.
 
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