{"id":56161,"date":"2018-02-23T20:25:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T20:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/23\/the-pentagon-shifted-20-billion-from-oco-to-base-budget-heres-what-it-included\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:05:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:05:27","slug":"the-pentagon-shifted-20-billion-from-oco-to-base-budget-heres-what-it-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/federal-budget\/2018\/02\/23\/the-pentagon-shifted-20-billion-from-oco-to-base-budget-heres-what-it-included\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon shifted $20 billion from OCO to base budget. Here’s what it included."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 The Pentagon\u2019s decision to shift $20 billion from wartime funding into the base budget now has some clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Feb. 12 budget rollout<\/a> of the fiscal 2019 budget request, there was a discrepancy of about $20 billion between what the printed materials said would be in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds and what Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist<\/a> said were the correct figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the result of government printers not being able to keep up with last minute changes following the congressional budget deal worked out days before, Norquist explained, but there were few details available on what exactly would be shifting out of the OCO account and into the base budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the Pentagon has provided more clarity on those funds. According to Defense Department spokesman Christopher Sherwood, the money breaks down into two categories \u2015 $16.3 billion of operation and maintenance (O&M) funding and $1.1 billion for \u201cnon-DoD classified activities.\u201d It is unclear exactly what that last category covers, but the Air Force budget request annually includes \u201cnon-blue\u201d funding, money that passes through the service without it being able to use the funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be stressed these $20 billion are not new funds being added by the department; the intent was for the DoD to have this money under OCO initially in its FY19 request. OCO funds are exempt from the funding caps imposed by the Budget Control Act, part of why critics have called the funding mechanism a \u201cslush fund\u201d for the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That $16.3 billion for O&M breaks down like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n