The Marine Corps Budget and Contingency Operations: Is the Funding Adequate to the Mission?

Abstract

The end of the Cold War has led to significant downsizing in the United States military establishment. The American people, through their elected representatives in toe Congress, are seeking to realize a Peace Dividend as a result of the perceived lack of a threat in the world. Defense spending is lower than at any time since the latter years of the Carter Administration, and projected to decline further. But as Department of Defense appropriations decline, U.S. military forces have been used in combat, peacekeeping, humanitarian, and disaster relief operations at an increasing rate. The Marine Corps alone has been involved in thirteen separate major operations since the fall of the Berlin Wall. This study examines the Marine Corps' participation in three separate operations since 1989 and examines the manner in which those operations were funded. When such operations are funded below the level of their eventual cost, the Marine Corps must pay for them, at least initially, by withdrawing funding from other areas of its budget. This study examines the effects on the future combat readiness of the Marine Corps which have resulted from the inadequate funding of the missions assigned.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 03, 1994
Accession Number
ADA284466

Entities

People

  • Joseph M. Flynn

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combat Readiness
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Disasters
  • Federal Budgets
  • Governments
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Applications
  • Military Budgets
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.