The Master Plan to Cut Unnecessary Defense Spending

The United States of America is famous for the having the distinction of having the most technologically advanced armed forces in the whole world. The reason for such is that the U.S. also spends about 46.5% of the total defense spending of the whole world. According to the Department of Defense, the total budget for fiscal year 2010 is pegged at $663.8 billion. The nearest highest spender is China which spends about $98 billion for its military. If you compare both figures, you will notice the huge difference especially at this time where there is really no major world war going on.

In this time of severe economic downfall, any form of unnecessary spending is condemned and the government is desperately finding ways to save more money. Of all places to look at, the U.S. defense spending is probably the best thing to consider in cutting unnecessary expenses and generating more funds for other needed services. Just recently, U.S. Department of Defense secretary Robert Gates introduced a master plan that will significantly cut the defense spending but will still preserve the combat effectiveness of its troops.

The plan is projected to save around $100 billion which will be used for other important needs. There were several points that Sec. Gates mentioned. First, is by removing useless private contractors who is not really of good use to the army. Figures showed that about 39% of the entire defense department workforce was private contractors. Removing these unneeded personnel will certainly save more money. He also mentioned the removal of numerous Generals, Admirals and Senior Civilians. The increase in the number of higher positions was motivated by prestige for a particular service rather than the actual need for a particular mission.

Next, he also wanted to remove the Joint Forces Command which basically had more private contractors over government employees. Today, the USJFCOM is really fully utilized and that the money spent for the military command isn’t worthy enough. Sec. Gates also stated the plan to remove several IT offices of the military that was perceived to be redundant and having duplicate missions. And finally, the expensive studies conducted by the Defense Department which isn’t really giving useful inputs shall be stopped.

For years, a lot of opportunistic private contractors have cost the U.S. government millions or even billions of dollars. It is a sad fact that not all military personnel are doing their job right and yet are still receiving a fat paycheck. It is now time to determine who should leave and who to stay. The Defense Budget should never be used to only serve a particular group’s interest but instead be used to protect and defend the entire nation from chaos and unrest. At a time when the government needs all the money it can have, cutting unnecessary defense spending can really be a huge boost.