WASHINGTON — The omnibus spending bill to emerge from a bipartisan congressional committee early Monday morning includes funding to implement major recommendations made by the National Commission on the Future of the Army well over a year ago.
The defense portion of the bill totals $598.5 billion, which contains less than half the $30 billion defense supplemental U.S. President Donald Trump sought, but $19.9 billion more than in the last year of the Obama administration. If the bill is passed it would fund the government through Sept. 30.
The commission was appointed by Congress and the White House to examine the service's structure and policies relating to its size and force mix between the active, Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. In part, the commission was created to settle a dispute between the active Army and the Guard over a 2013 decision to restructure its aviation fleet that included taking all AH-64 Apaches out of the National Guard and placing them in active units. The Guard pushed back, arguing it should mirror the active force in capability.
The Army’s decisions to cut end strength and restructure its aviation assets were entirely driven by having to make difficult choices under sequestration.
The commission recommended the Guard maintain four attack helicopter battalions. And the Army’s fiscal year 2017 wish list of additional funding not include in its budget request sent to Congress in the spring of 2016 said it was in favor of keeping those helicopter battalions should it be given the proper funding.
The Army’s wish list indicated the service would need an additional 72 Apaches.
The commission also recommended the Army retain an 11th Combat Aviation Brigade in South Korea. The service had originally planned to reduce its force down to 10 CABs. The service included retaining the CAB in its wish list, noting the funding needed would be roughly $305 million.
"To maintain four Apache battalions in the Army National Guard, the bill fully funds the modernization of existing Apaches," a summary of the bill distributed by the Senate Appropriations Committee states. And the bill "provides $262 million for seven new Apaches and supports the annual operating costs of four battalions."
In total, the bill funds $774 million for 52 remanufactured AH-64 Apache helicopters, $262 million for seven new Apaches and $72 million to support advanced procurement needs for an additional 10 aircraft.
The summary adds that "the bill also provides funds to maintain a Combat Aviation Brigade in Korea."
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said last year that while he was opposed to one of the NCFA’s recommendations to cut two Infantry Brigade Fighting Teams from the active Army, he would support maintaining Apaches in the Guard and an 11th CAB in Korea.
He said there was a group of about 15 recommendations that would either require more detailed analysis or were too expensive to implement without additional funding from Congress.
The rest of the 63 recommendations he said could either be implemented easily and at almost no cost or were already being implemented.
The bill also would fund 1,000 additional active soldiers, 1,000 Army National Guardsmen and 1,000 Army reservists, far less than the 16,000 additional soldiers Congress authorized in its 2017 policy bill passed in December.
The Army had been drawing down the force since 2012, going from a wartime high of 570,000 active soldiers to an eventual low of 450,000 by the end of fiscal year 2018. But the National Defense Authorization Act reversed the course and plans for an active Army force of 476,000 strong in 2017.
The commission found a total force of 980,000 is "minimally sufficient" for maintaining national security. Within its recommended total force of at least 980,000, the commission recommended 450,000 troops for the active component, 335,000 for the Guard and 195,000 in the Reserve.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
