The PB 2018 would increase the active-duty component by 8,100 and the reserves by 2,700 over the funded force structure levels in FY 2017. However, Congress largely rejected planned force structure reductions during FY 2017. As compared to the projected FY 2018 end strengths in the PB 2017, the Trump administration’s budget would fund an additional 42,800 active-duty servicemembers and an additional 13,600 reservists. The PB 2018 defense budget request would see the active-duty component reach 1,314,000, with 815,900 in the reserves, for a total force of 2,219,000. The PB 2017 planned force structure levels across the Services in FY 2018 would have totaled 1,271,200 in the active-duty forces and 802,300 in the reserves, for an overall end strength of 2,073,500. Increasing the size of the armed forces was one of President Trump’s key campaign pledges. Source: OUSD (Comptroller), CFO, Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Request: Defense Budget Overview, Table 5-1, “Pay and Benefits Funding.” įigure 4-2: Military and Civilian Costs Within the PB18 Defense Budget
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Source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD)(Comptroller), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Request: Defense Budget Overview (Washington, DC: DoD, May 2017), Table 5-1, “Pay and Benefits Funding,” available at. įigure 4-1: Military Personnel Costs in the PB18 Defense Budget These figures do not include the $183.1 billion requested in PB 2018 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the $83.8 billion of pension obligations for current military retirees paid by the Treasury, or the $9.7 billion of payments for TRICARE for life for current beneficiaries paid by the Treasury. As of FY 2015, about 44 percent, or $75 billion, of DoD’s total contracting obligations went towards various service contracts. DoD also employs thousands of contractor personnel. Overall, the pay and benefits of military personnel and civilian employees accounts for $272.7 billion, or 42 percent of the total $647 billion FY 2018 DoD budget request (see Figure 4-2).
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The pay and benefits for the balance of DoD civilian employees amounts to $75.2 billion for FY 2018 (see Figure 4-1). About 60,000 DoD civilians are employed by the Defense Health Program, and smaller numbers are employed by the DoD Education program and other benefits programs their salaries are included in the total funding for these programs. Funding these military end-strength levels would cost $133.9 billion in military personnel (MILPERS) appropriations $7.8 billion in accrual payments for current servicemembers’ TRICARE benefits $7.5 billion in concurrent receipt accrual payments for military retirement $9.4 billion in other benefits, including the DoD’s network of K–12 schools and $34.6 billion for the Defense Health Program.
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In addition, the request would fund 740,000 DoD civilian employees, with an additional 480 funded in the OCO budget. In the PB 2018 request, the Trump administration projected a total force of 2,212,900, with an active-duty end strength of 1,314,000 and 815,900 in the reserve components.
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The costs of pay and benefits for the Pentagon’s military and civilian personnel make up the single largest category of costs in the DoD budget.