{"id":12590,"date":"2018-02-08T01:07:14","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T01:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/08\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:26:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:26:42","slug":"budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/08\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget caps leave Army with a choice: maintain or modernize, but not both"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army will once again have to shelve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2016\/12\/16\/path-forward-for-armys-modernization-priorities-takes-shape\/\">modernization efforts<\/a> if Congress fails to break free of crippling budget caps, said the head of the service\u2019s resourcing branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For several years the Army has had to choose to prioritize funding to meet its force<a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2015\/08\/28\/milley-readiness-for-ground-combat-is-no-1-priority\/\"> readiness requirements <\/a>over funding the development of capabilities needed to build a future force. The situation will only get worse from here, said Lt. Gen. John Murray at a Feb. 7 Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee hearing on Army modernization.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Army has reached an inflection point,\u201d Murray, Army G-8, told senators at the hearing. \u201cIt is the same thing I told you last year, we can no longer afford to choose between near-term readiness and modernization. Specific to modernization, we can no longer afford to choose between incremental upgrades of existing equipment and developing new capabilities, we have definitely reached a point where we\u2019ve got to be able to do both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/budget\/2017\/05\/26\/fy18-budget-request-the-army-s-top-10-modernization-priorities\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">FY18 budget request: The Army&#8217;s top 10 modernization priorities<\/a><\/i>]<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond the threat of the continuation of crippling budget caps, Congress has been unable to pass a fiscal year 2018 appropriations bill, instead opting to fund the defense budget at last year\u2019s levels using continuing resolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army has at least 16 programs it can\u2019t start without fiscal year 2018 funding that would help modernize the force and has had to slow production lines \u2014 particularly munition lines \u2014 to deal with the lack of funding measured against what it requested for FY18, Maj. Gen. John George, who is the director of force development in the Army\u2019s Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, said Feb. 6 at a trade conference in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House GOP leadership<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/02\/06\/house-gops-six-week-continuing-resolution-offers-military-health-care-funding\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\"> introduced a continuing resolution <\/a>on Feb. 5 that averts a government shutdown through March 23 with a $659.2 billion defense spending measure for fiscal 2018 and health care items. It would be the fifth continuing resolution since entering the FY18 on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the Senate leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2018\/02\/07\/congress-reaches-budget-deal-with-huge-defense-boost\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">reached a two-year deal<\/a> announced Feb. 7 that would set defense spending at $700 billion for 2018 and $716 billion for 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., seemed hopeful Congress would reach a deal on Feb. 8 \u2014 the deadline to make a budget deal or extend the CR \u2014 he asked Murray what would be the consequences for Army readiness and modernization should Congress be unable to reach a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think it would be devastating,\u201d Murray said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t get a budget, if we go to a sequester, if we go to furlough again, we would not be able to do both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murray added the only new developmental program the Army has started in the last two years is the Mobile Protected Firepower capability \u2014 its quest for a new light tank for infantry brigade combat teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ST-Kinetics-displayed-its-Next-Generation-AFV-which-forms-the-basis-of-its-offering-for-the-US-Armys-Mobile-Protected-Firepower-program-partnering-with-SAIC.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ST-Kinetics-displayed-its-Next-Generation-AFV-which-forms-the-basis-of-its-offering-for-the-US-Armys-Mobile-Protected-Firepower-program-partnering-with-SAIC.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ST-Kinetics-displayed-its-Next-Generation-AFV-which-forms-the-basis-of-its-offering-for-the-US-Armys-Mobile-Protected-Firepower-program-partnering-with-SAIC.jpg.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ST-Kinetics-displayed-its-Next-Generation-AFV-which-forms-the-basis-of-its-offering-for-the-US-Armys-Mobile-Protected-Firepower-program-partnering-with-SAIC.jpg.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ST-Kinetics-displayed-its-Next-Generation-AFV-which-forms-the-basis-of-its-offering-for-the-US-Armys-Mobile-Protected-Firepower-program-partnering-with-SAIC.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">ST Kinetics displayed its next-generation armored fighting vehicle, which forms the basis of its offering for the U.S. Army&#8217;s Mobile Protected Firepower program. The company is partnering with SAIC. (Mike Yeo\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have no other new developmental combat vehicles in production and that is not even in production,\u201d Murray said. The Army is in the process of collecting bid samples from industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2017\/11\/22\/armys-new-light-tank-competition-kicks-off\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\">Army\u2019s new light tank competition kicks off<\/a><\/i>]<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have been focused solely on keeping equipment we have as modern as we possibly could while others have modernized their fleets,\u201d Murray said. \u201cWe have no new aircraft in production and we are still flying the same aircraft that we were flying in the 1980s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even worse, he said, if the Army continues having to prioritize current force readiness over modernization, \u201cwe would be using the same fleets for the next 20 to 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2017\/11\/06\/armys-modernization-command-taking-shape-under-freshly-picked-leaders\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Army\u2019s modernization command taking shape under freshly picked leaders<\/a><\/i>]<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murray added if Congress funds the FY18 budget \u201canywhere near\u201d the levels authorized in the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act passed late last year, \u201cwe will be able to start the development of new systems that we will need on the future battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army has been \u201cmaintaining parity as best we could by incremental upgrades of systems, but there is nothing leap-ahead about what we are doing,\u201d Murray said. What \u201cwe want to do is go after the system that will provide us the overmatch into the future against a peer adversary.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Army is at &#8220;an inflection point&#8221; where it needs to fund both current readiness and modernization, but won&#8217;t be able to do both if Congress can&#8217;t pass a budget, Lt. Gen. John Murray, head of Army G-8, said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":29013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3350],"class_list":["post-12590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"DJ7JDHKKVFBFRFJF6C47KSHIGM","arc_canonical_url":"\/land\/2018\/02\/08\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Budget caps leave Army with a choice: maintain or modernize, but not both - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Army is at &quot;an inflection point&quot; where it needs to fund both current readiness and modernization, but won&#039;t be able to do both if Congress can&#039;t pass a budget, Lt. 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John Murray, head of Army G-8, said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/08\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-08T01:07:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:26:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Budget caps leave Army with a choice: maintain or modernize, but not both\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-02-08T01:07:14+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:26:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 720,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Murray.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/08\\\/budget-caps-would-stop-army-from-simultaneously-maintaining-force-and-modernizing\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Budget caps leave Army with a choice: maintain or modernize, but not both - 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