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GAO: $70B budget not enough to grow the force

The Army’s $70 billion funding plan for adding 74,000 soldiers to the active and reserve components is not comprehensive and may be sharply understated, according to the Government Accountability Office.

GAO auditors, in a report released Jan. 23, said budget projections for the service’s “Grow the Force” initiative do not include health care and dependent education costs, which likely will exceed $2.5 billion.

Analysts also concluded that Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey’s goal to accelerate Army growth to meet final target end strength in 2010 instead of 2013 will generate additional personnel costs not included in the $70 billion funding estimate announced last year.

“The Army will have to budget for the hiring of military and civilian [employees] sooner than programmed, and may have to increase recruiting and retention incentives to meet end-strength goals,” GAO officials said in the report prepared for the military oversight committees of Congress.

The force expansion was launched in January 2007 with the intent of permanently adding 65,000 soldiers to the active component, 8,201 to the National Guard and 1,010 to the Army Reserve by September 2013.

The active component had a running start on the expansion because of a temporary end-strength increase of 30,000 during 2004-06. That growth spurt has since become a permanent feature of the expansion.

The Regular Army today stands at 521,000 soldiers, which is 26,000 shy of the final goal, but 65,000 more than in 2004.

The additional soldiers will allow the Army to increase its inventory of active and reserve brigade combat teams from 70 to 76, and combat support brigades from 212 to 225.

The active-component portion of the buildup includes six additional brigade combat teams, two combat support brigades, one fires brigade, one air defense brigade, one engineer brigade and two sustainment brigades.

In mid-December, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Dick Cody unveiled a stationing plan for the expansion that identifies $10.8 billion in construction requirements for the new brigades, including barracks, and quality-of-life, training and maintenance facilities.

Those expenses were not included in the $70 billion funding plan.

While a more detailed accounting of construction needs will be included in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2009 budget, GAO analysts expect the $10.8 billion estimate may be severely understated.

For example, the stationing plan does not include land acquisition and environmental costs associated with the expansion.

GAO officials recommended that the Army clearly identify force-expansion requirements and costs in a report to be sent to Congress by March 30, so that it can be used by lawmakers to analyze the service’s 2009 budget request.

The Army has agreed to that request, along with a proposal to routinely identify “Grow the Force” projects in budget submissions for 2010-13.