WASHINGTON – Under pressure to make drastic budget cuts, the army leaders have concluded an unusual agreement with Elon Musk and the Ministry of Government: Do not Doge; We are going to be made.
The process began during a March House meeting of the White House at which Vice-President JD Vance, a veteran sailor, attended; Army secretary Dan Driscoll; And the chief of staff of the army, General Randy George, three familiar defense officials with the case at NBC News.
Shortly after the start of the meeting, Musk joined them. Together, the four men discussed Driscoll and George’s plans to reduce the hundreds of millions of dollars in what they and other army officials are suitable, it is waste. The objective of the two men is to reduce jobs, consolidate commandments and radically modify the army acquisition process, the three officials said.
“We worked to get the best most deadly and modern tools in the hands of our soldiers,” said Colonel Dave Butler, army spokesperson, in an email. “To do this, we must leave the anchor of obsolescence. We have to stop spending money for yesterday’s equipment and investing in war technology. ”
Army leaders have been complaining for a long time that the members of the Congress have obtained them to spend billions of dollars for weapons, vehicles and programs they do not want. Often, expenses are motivated by the members of the congress focused on the creation of jobs and money in their districts or attached to inherited programs that army leaders no longer want, officials said.
George argued that there are too many general officer’s billets in the army and that some of them can be eliminated, the three officials said. And Driscoll thinks that there are civil roles that have become redundant or outdated. The two leaders also suggested consolidating certain army commandments, including US Army North, US Army South and US Futures Command, the officials said.
“By combining the headquarters and reducing general officer’s billets, we will prioritize the maneuver training that fight and win the wars of our nation,” said Butler.
Musk and Vance have approved, and now army leaders have started a campaign to make their own cuts instead of Doge. They include the elimination of several major army programs; Consolidate or reduce redundant positions, including general officers and civilians; And using a consulting company to convince the public and the Capitol Hill that the programs that the army do not want to fail.
Army leaders plan to reduce 8% to 20% of his civil workforce, with an early estimate of around 20,000 cuts to start, officials said. They promised to adopt a tailor -made approach to cuts.
Two programs on the cutting block are the light joint tactical vehicle, known as JLTV, and the high mobility versatile wheat vehicle, commonly known as humvee. Army leaders hope to focus spending on the new infantry squad vehicle, known as ISV, instead.
Another example is that the army could stop buying the Delta variant of the AH-64 Apache helicopter in favor of the AH-64E, which army leaders prefer, added the officials.
Army officials also hope to stop buying the Gray Eagle drone and replacing it with more recent drones. Officials said they are also considering changes to at least seven other programs.
Opposition from the expected congress
In anticipation of resistance to congresses to reduce jobs and money in their districts, the Pentagon has prepared a “DOD directive” who would give army officials much more autonomy in what they can buy, according to the three managers.
The directive should be signed this week. This would allow army leaders to select specific vehicles, drones and major weapons systems that the army would use for years without the Congress canceling them in the budgetary process. The problem is so sensitive that Pentagon officials must sign non-disclosure agreements before being informed of the details, the three managers said.
Since Driscoll was sworn in as an army secretary, his approach was unorthodox. Driscoll, a close friend of Vance, joined the army after working in finance. He assured Trump administration officials and Congress officials that he would resist the pressure from the Congress and let the army buy what military leaders believe they need, said two defense officials.
Driscoll hired a public affairs consulting firm, Mad Global Strategy, to place reports in targeted districts and plead for some programs should be reduced, according to the three officials.
According to his organic company, one of the company’s partners, Jai Chabria, was chief strategist and general consultant for the Vance 2020 Senate campaign. Mad Global did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The company is responsible for sharing the information from the army with the public who show that some programs are ineffective, too expensive or outdated. Defense officials said it was the first time that they could remember that the army intentionally published information on the weaknesses of specific programs to end them and transmit to them to voters that Congress obliges the army to buy them.
Mad will give examples such as too heavy vehicles to cross bridges in training areas and expensive software from external companies that could be produced inside the army to much cheaper. He will also describe historical buildings that the army is forced to keep instead of building new ones, even if they are expensive to restore and maintain.
The global objective, said those responsible, is to provide the public with proof that the current acquisition process is expensive, long and ineffective.
“Over the past twenty years, employees and general costs have become inflated and ineffective,” wrote Butler.
