Officials Weigh Resource Priorities During Sequester

You are subscribed to American Forces News Articles for U.S. Department of Defense. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Officials Weigh Resource Priorities During Sequester 06/17/2013 07:26 AM CDT Officials Weigh Resource Priorities During Sequester By Amaani Lyle American Forces Press Service ARLINGTON, Va., June 17, 2013 - In light of recent budget woes, Defense Department officials are weighing resource priorities and moving toward the decision phase for the fiscal year 2014 budget, a Pentagon official said at the National Defense Industrial Association National Logistics Forum here June 14. During the strategic choices management review designed to plan a timeline over the next five years, officials will attempt a methodical assessment of the Defense Department's resources and objectives to avoid broad-stroke cuts, said Mike McCord, the Pentagon's principal deputy comptroller. "We want to approach problems as holistically as we can and make decisions that make the best of this bad situation," McCord said. "Most people feel that there's a smarter way to do it than across-the-board cuts." McCord noted that modernization, readiness and force structure value prioritization remain central to the budget decision process. "We looked at the kind of trade-offs that people would expect us to look at," McCord said, "[such as] the impacts of preserving modernization as more of a primary goal to preserving readiness at the expense of modernization and force structure ... at the expense of those other two." Officials also considered retaining some residual capacity that might be slower to localize or strengthening the force enough to ensure that what remains is ready to deploy and prevail. But if sequestration cuts now in effect for fiscal 2013 continue, he added, the Defense Department won't be able to do everything the president wants it to do. "We need to review which of the many objectives we have are the most important to us and separate those that really drive resource decisions from some of those that don't so much," McCord said. "We can't do all the things that the commander in chief wants us to do if we have a permanent sequester level." But capability can increase, at least relatively, with greater lead-time, stability in planning and flexibility on how to execute those plans, McCord said. "We should not wait until the middle of the fiscal year to get those answers as we did this year to find out if the sequester is going to happen or not," he added.   Biographies: Mike McCord Related Sites: Special Report: Sequestration   Defense Department News Through Facebook On American Forces Press Service's Facebook page, you can post comments and share news, photos and videos. Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Forces-Press-Service/65137437532 or search for American Forces Press Service at Facebook.com. Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time by clicking on your 'User Profile' page at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOD/subscriber/edit?preferences=true#tab1. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please e-mail support@govdelivery.com. Have another inquiry? Visit the online FAQ at http://www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx for up-to-date information. Get the help you, your family, and fellow servicemembers need, when you need it. Visit www.WarriorCare.mil to learn more. Check out the National Resource Directory at www.nationalresourcedirectory.org, a new web-based resource for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them from the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs. This service is provided to you at no charge by U.S. Department of Defense. Visit us on the web at http://www.defense.gov/. Updates from the U.S. Department of Defense