Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said the Defense Department‘s $582.7 billion budget plan seeks to balance military investments to build high-end technologies, operational capacity and readiness, DoD News reported Thursday.
Jim Garamone writes Dunford told the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee Thursday that sequestration has forced DoD to underinvest in key technology programs over the past five fiscal years.
“I’m satisfied that the FY17 budget [proposal] puts us on the right trajectory, but it will take your continued support to ensure the joint force has the depth, flexibility, readiness and responsiveness that ensures any future fight is not fair,” he told subcommittee members.
He noted DoD has absorbed $800 billion in sequester-related funding cuts since fiscal 2011 and will be forced to trim an additional $100 billion from the department’s budget in the next five years if Congress does not reverse sequestration.
The department aims to develop new tools and methods for management of space and cyber environments, according to Dunford.