Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III briefs the press from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2021. (DoD Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders).
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon’s $715 Billion budget request balances readiness today and future modernization that will deter rising China aggression, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. During testimony Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Austin said the request for $715 billion would enable the department to “match resources to strategy, strategy to policy, and policy to the will of the American people.” The budget request also aims to keep pace with China, the Pentagon chief explained.
“The department must be ready to meet and keep pace with our competitors and, if necessary, to fight and win the next war and not the last. That’s why this budget stays true to our focus on matching the pacing challenge that we clearly see from the People’s Republic of China, to include more than $5 billion for the Pacific Defense initiative.”
-U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
The Secretary of Defense also said President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget request is the right mix for the Defense Department. After 20 years of counterinsurgency operations around the world, the proposed budget would invest in new capabilities that will provide deterrence against near-peer competitors, Austin said. It would invest in hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, micro-electronics, 5G technology, space-based systems, shipbuilding and nuclear modernization. The FY22 request seeks $28 billion to modernize the nuclear triad and $112 billion for research, development, test and evaluation. Austin said it’s the largest research and development request the department has ever made. If accepted, the budget would allow the department to divest itself of older systems and platforms that are no longer needed. This would include older ships, aircraft, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms that demand more maintenance, upkeep and risk than the military can afford, Austin said.
An aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 11, 2021. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase)
Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee defending the Pentagon’s budget request. The $715 billion request preserves present readiness, the general said, but it’s also a down payment on future readiness. “It is now that we must set ourselves on a path to modernize the Joint Force,” Milley said. “And this budget contributes to doing that.”
The U.S. military is the most capable force on Earth, and any country that doubts the effectiveness of the military or the will and grit of the American people would be wrong, Army Gen. Milley said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Michael McCord and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley answer questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee during the Department of Defense budget posture in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2022, June 10, 2021. (DoD Photo by Chad J. McNeeley)
Milley said the purpose of the United States military is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The General said this mission remains the same, but the conditions and strategies continually change. Milley also said China is increasing its military capability at a very serious and sustained rate, and the United States must retain the competitive and technological edge against this pacing threat.
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