Pentagon plans drastic cuts in the US military pot

Pentagon plans drastic cuts in the US military pot

The pentagon considers significant savings in the upper area of ​​the US-Militärs Trump administration wants to reduce the federal government. This emerges from an information document received by CNN and statements by a US defense officer.

planned consolidations in the US military

The measures taken into account includes the consolidation of fighter commands, possibly the abolition of a management that monitors the development, training and training of the armed forces, as well as to stop the expansion of the US armed forces in Japan.

fusion of command structures

One of the most striking measures that are discussed is the merger of European Command and Africa Command for a single command, based in Stuttgart, Germany. In addition, a merging of the US Northern and Southern Command is considered a single Americom command, as is the result of the document.

Financial efficiency as the primary goal

The document was prepared by US defense officers for leaders this month, while Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is urging Pentagon and other federal authorities to make far-reaching savings. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said in a video that the Ministry would use Doge to find "fraud, waste and abuse in the greatest discretionary budget of the Federal Government".

current budget and savings potential

The current budget of the US military is over $ 800 billion. "With Doge, we concentrate as far as possible on headquarters and superfluous expenses that enable us to invest again elsewhere," said Hegseth. In February, Hegseth instructed the military to prepare plans for the drastic reduction of the budget in the next five years, with the exception of border security, as can be seen from a memo preserved by the CNN.

reduction of civilian employees

In the past few weeks, the Pentagon has mainly focused on releasing a large number of civilian employees, with the overarching goal of reducing 5-8 % of the ministry's civil workforce. The merger of the commands would be an important step.

risks and savings

The document admits that consolidating the commands carries risks and could create an "increased scope of control and operations for the combined commander". In addition, “political risk” is mentioned in connection with the closure of commands. According to the document, consolidation could provide the Pentagon savings of around $ 330 million over five years.

further savings potential

Another option to reduce costs is to stop the planned expansion of the US armed forces in Japan. This could save around $ 1.1 billion in personnel and command costs, but could also create "political risks" for the United States in Japan and restrict the scope of command and control activities in the Pacific.

modernization efforts under bidges

The bid administration undertook steps to modernize the military forces in Japan last year as part of a deeper collaboration with Tokyo in view of the increasing threats from China. The document also proposes considerable savings at the Joint Staff, for example by "secluded" by the J7, a department that monitors the joint training of the armed forces.

dismantling and possible challenges

In addition, the document provides for almost 400 civilian employees in the future surgical cell, cyber and training of the joint staff and to move hundreds of Joint Staff employees to a location in Suffolk, Virginia. Another option is to close the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, which is described as "redundant". These savings could save around $ 1 billion over five years, but could also mean the "loss of trained staff and experts through layoffs or transfers".