Army’s budget proposal jumps to $140.7 billion

[unhappycamper]

Army’s budget proposal jumps to $140.7 billion
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, February 6, 2008

ARLINGTON, Va. — For the third year in a row, the Army emerged a winner in the Pentagon’s budget proposal stakes, jumping from a $128.9 billion total budget allocation in fiscal 2008 to $140.7 billion in the fiscal 2009 budget request submitted to Congress on Monday.

For new weapons and other equipment, the Army hopes to boost its procurement budget by $2 billion in fiscal 2009, growing from $22.6 billion to $24.6 billion.

The Army’s shopping list includes an additional 119 Stryker vehicles, 5,249 Humvees, 29 M-1A1 tank upgrades, 1,061 heavy tactical vehicles and 3,187 medium tactical vehicles.

The Army also plans to spend $3.6 billion for continued research and development into its big-ticket, controversial Future Combat Systems program, which has slipped behind schedule and is now scheduled for initial deployment in 2015.

Almost half of the additional $11.8 billion the White House is requesting for the Army is dedicated to military personnel accounts, including “growing the Army,” Lt. Gen. David Melcher, the Army’s military deputy for budget, told reporters during a budget brief Monday.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52228