Posted on Feb 5, 2015
9 things to know about the Corps' 2016 spending plans
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From: Marine Corps Times
END STRENGTH WILL HOLD STEADY
After years of trimming the size of the Corps from its wartime high of 202,100 Marines, officials plan to temporarily put the drawdown on hold.
The Navy Department's proposed fiscal 2016 budget lets the Corps hold steady at 184,000 personnel. The service was expected to shrink to 182,000 by the end of this year, but that will occur in fiscal 2017 instead.
The plan stems from the possible strain the drawdown has put on small unit leaders, according to budget documents. In his recently released planning guidance, Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford noted that the Corps was suffering from a dearth of noncommissioned officers and staff NCOs, which had begun to affect the service's readiness.
PAY AND BONUSES
If approved, the Defense Department budget will provide raises for Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen, but the 1.3 percent boost fails to keep pace with expected increases in private sector salaries.
Still, the pay raise is the most generous service members have seen in years. The past two fiscal cycles boasted the lowest salary increases in decades, at 1 percent each year.
The budget for re-enlistment bonuses within the Corps grew by $1 million to $55 million. Officials also boosted funding for enlistment bonuses to $8.5 million over $6.8 million in fiscal 2015.
GUAM BUILDUP
Guam is critical to the Corps' shift to the Asia-Pacific region and return to its seagoing roots, making it unsurprising the service is planning to spend $126 million to make the U.S. territory better fit for Marines.
The allocation would cover the total cost of a new live-fire training range complex, marking the beginning of what is expected to be a construction boom there over the next decade. Given that the Corps wants to station 5,000 Marines and 1,300 dependents on the island through 2026, millions are expected to be spent on housing and new facilities in the coming years.
The live-fire complex, which will include four small arms firing ranges, is scheduled for completion in 2018.
GARRISON PROJECTS
Nearly 60 military construction projects are accounted for in the Navy's fiscal 2016 budget, including 20 for the active Marine Corps and two for the Reserve.
Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, for example, could see about $106.6 million in construction projects. That entails the completion of new bachelor enlisted quarters and airfield lighting modernization efforts.
Other notable project plans include a roughly $54.8 million simulator integration and range control facility aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and a nearly $29.7 million facility for unmanned aircraft at the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
SHIP-TO-SHORE CONNECTORS
Marine officials expect to award a contract for the engineering and manufacture of the amphibious combat vehicle early in fiscal 2016 and are planning to put $219 million toward its development.
The new acquisition eventually will replace the amphibious assault vehicle, though Gen. Joseph Dunford made it clear in his planning guidance that the Corps must cooperate with the Navy on development of next generation ship-to-shore connectors. Given the distance ships need to stay out of range of enemy missiles, it would take hours for Marines to get ashore on the heavily-armored ACV.
In the meantime, officials plan to spend $27 million in fiscal 2016 upgrading AAVs in anticipation of the first ACVs coming on line.
AIRCRAFT
The Corps' fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will continue to grow under the Defense Department's fiscal 2016 budget.
Under the financial roadmap, the Corps is poised to receive nine of the F-35B-Lightning II model and two of its carrier variant. The former will help officials stand up a squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma by fiscal 2018, said Rear Adm. William Lescher at a budget briefing Monday.
Along with the fifth generation jet fighters, the Corps expects to acquire 19 MV-22B Ospreys as well as one KC-130J Super Hercules.
SEA PLANS
At least one ship bound to eventually ferry Marines will be budgeted for in fiscal 2016: the 12th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship.
Three littoral combat ships also are on the Navy's wish list. While those ships are not specifically designed to carry Marines, it's not unheard of. And Corps officials are experimenting with placing Marines aboard nontraditional ship types given the well-known shortage in amphibs.
The proposed Navy budget also calls for five ship-to-shore connectors and upgrades to four Landing Craft Air Cushions.
GROUND VEHICLES
The Marine Corps plans to make a major investment into the Joint Land Tactical Vehicle program in fiscal 2016, according to budget documents.
After spending just $8 million on the initiative in fiscal 2015, the Corps is pouring $79 million into the vehicle, which is being developed in conjunction with the Army. JLTVs are slated to replace the more vulnerable High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles - better known as the "Humvee."
By contrast, officials are not planning on spending any money upgrading Humvees in fiscal 2016 after dropping $57 million on the vehicles in the prior budgetary cycle.
LOOMING BUDGET CUTS
Though Defense Department officials pitched the $585.3 billion total budget as necessary following 13 years of war, it flouts the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, likely making it a point of contention in Congress.
The proposed budget, which requires Congress' approval, is about $38 billion more than allowed under the spending caps imposed in 2013. Pundits see the decision to ignore sequestration as setting the stage for a fight between a Republican-controlled Congress and Democratic President Barack Obama. When Obama unveiled his new budget, he called for an end to sequestration.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/02/04/marine-corps-budget-plan-2016/22875417/
END STRENGTH WILL HOLD STEADY
After years of trimming the size of the Corps from its wartime high of 202,100 Marines, officials plan to temporarily put the drawdown on hold.
The Navy Department's proposed fiscal 2016 budget lets the Corps hold steady at 184,000 personnel. The service was expected to shrink to 182,000 by the end of this year, but that will occur in fiscal 2017 instead.
The plan stems from the possible strain the drawdown has put on small unit leaders, according to budget documents. In his recently released planning guidance, Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford noted that the Corps was suffering from a dearth of noncommissioned officers and staff NCOs, which had begun to affect the service's readiness.
PAY AND BONUSES
If approved, the Defense Department budget will provide raises for Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen, but the 1.3 percent boost fails to keep pace with expected increases in private sector salaries.
Still, the pay raise is the most generous service members have seen in years. The past two fiscal cycles boasted the lowest salary increases in decades, at 1 percent each year.
The budget for re-enlistment bonuses within the Corps grew by $1 million to $55 million. Officials also boosted funding for enlistment bonuses to $8.5 million over $6.8 million in fiscal 2015.
GUAM BUILDUP
Guam is critical to the Corps' shift to the Asia-Pacific region and return to its seagoing roots, making it unsurprising the service is planning to spend $126 million to make the U.S. territory better fit for Marines.
The allocation would cover the total cost of a new live-fire training range complex, marking the beginning of what is expected to be a construction boom there over the next decade. Given that the Corps wants to station 5,000 Marines and 1,300 dependents on the island through 2026, millions are expected to be spent on housing and new facilities in the coming years.
The live-fire complex, which will include four small arms firing ranges, is scheduled for completion in 2018.
GARRISON PROJECTS
Nearly 60 military construction projects are accounted for in the Navy's fiscal 2016 budget, including 20 for the active Marine Corps and two for the Reserve.
Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, for example, could see about $106.6 million in construction projects. That entails the completion of new bachelor enlisted quarters and airfield lighting modernization efforts.
Other notable project plans include a roughly $54.8 million simulator integration and range control facility aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and a nearly $29.7 million facility for unmanned aircraft at the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
SHIP-TO-SHORE CONNECTORS
Marine officials expect to award a contract for the engineering and manufacture of the amphibious combat vehicle early in fiscal 2016 and are planning to put $219 million toward its development.
The new acquisition eventually will replace the amphibious assault vehicle, though Gen. Joseph Dunford made it clear in his planning guidance that the Corps must cooperate with the Navy on development of next generation ship-to-shore connectors. Given the distance ships need to stay out of range of enemy missiles, it would take hours for Marines to get ashore on the heavily-armored ACV.
In the meantime, officials plan to spend $27 million in fiscal 2016 upgrading AAVs in anticipation of the first ACVs coming on line.
AIRCRAFT
The Corps' fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will continue to grow under the Defense Department's fiscal 2016 budget.
Under the financial roadmap, the Corps is poised to receive nine of the F-35B-Lightning II model and two of its carrier variant. The former will help officials stand up a squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma by fiscal 2018, said Rear Adm. William Lescher at a budget briefing Monday.
Along with the fifth generation jet fighters, the Corps expects to acquire 19 MV-22B Ospreys as well as one KC-130J Super Hercules.
SEA PLANS
At least one ship bound to eventually ferry Marines will be budgeted for in fiscal 2016: the 12th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship.
Three littoral combat ships also are on the Navy's wish list. While those ships are not specifically designed to carry Marines, it's not unheard of. And Corps officials are experimenting with placing Marines aboard nontraditional ship types given the well-known shortage in amphibs.
The proposed Navy budget also calls for five ship-to-shore connectors and upgrades to four Landing Craft Air Cushions.
GROUND VEHICLES
The Marine Corps plans to make a major investment into the Joint Land Tactical Vehicle program in fiscal 2016, according to budget documents.
After spending just $8 million on the initiative in fiscal 2015, the Corps is pouring $79 million into the vehicle, which is being developed in conjunction with the Army. JLTVs are slated to replace the more vulnerable High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles - better known as the "Humvee."
By contrast, officials are not planning on spending any money upgrading Humvees in fiscal 2016 after dropping $57 million on the vehicles in the prior budgetary cycle.
LOOMING BUDGET CUTS
Though Defense Department officials pitched the $585.3 billion total budget as necessary following 13 years of war, it flouts the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, likely making it a point of contention in Congress.
The proposed budget, which requires Congress' approval, is about $38 billion more than allowed under the spending caps imposed in 2013. Pundits see the decision to ignore sequestration as setting the stage for a fight between a Republican-controlled Congress and Democratic President Barack Obama. When Obama unveiled his new budget, he called for an end to sequestration.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/02/04/marine-corps-budget-plan-2016/22875417/
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