![handle is hein.congrec/cbo8023 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
Linking the Readiness of the
Armed Forces to DoD's Operation and
Maintenance Spending
April 2011
Spending for operation and maintenance (O&M) supports the military services' day-
to-day activities, such as the training of military units, maintenance of equipment,
recruitment of service members, operations of military bases, and provision of admin-
istrative services. In 2010, appropriations for O&M (excluding funds for the Defense
Health Program) totaled $157 billion and constituted some 29 percent of the Depart-
ment of Defense's (DoD's) base budget.1
DoD typically cites the readiness of military units to perform their missions in war-
time as the primary justification for its O&M budget requests to the Congress. For
example, budget materials that the Army submitted with its 2012 request for O&M
funding state the following: The budget provides resources to train and sustain the
active component combat forces at readiness levels consistent with mission require-
ments. ... The Navy in part justified its 2012 O&M request with this statement:
Our top readiness priority is ensuring that forces are fully trained, ready to deploy,
and fully supported while deployed. The budget reflects the best balance of resources
to achieve this priority.3
DoD broadly defines readiness as the ability of U.S. military forces to fight and
meet the demands of the National Military Strategy (which describes the armed
forces' role in achieving national security objectives). DoD assesses readiness on at
1. DoD's base budget supports the ordinary activities of the department, such as development and
procurement of weapon systems and the day-to-day operations of the military and civilian work-
forces. DoD also receives additional funds to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and for
other contingency operations. Those funds are counted in the budget totals but are not considered
part of DoD's base budget.
2. Department of the Army, Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget Estimates, vol. 1, Operation & Maintenance,
Arrny:]ustification Book (February 2011), p. 5, www.asafm.army.mil/Documents/
OfficeDocuments/Budget/BudgetMaterials/FY12/opmaint//oma-v1 .pdf.
3. Department of the Navy, Office of Bud get, Highlights of the Department of the Navy FY 2012
Budget (February 2011), p. 4-3, www.finance.hq.navy.mil/FMB/12pres/Highlights~book.pdf.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.congrec/cbo8023&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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