thedrifter
05-01-06, 04:48 AM
As the war stretches on, costs for gear have tripled
By Drew Brown
Inquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - The cost of the war in Iraq is skyrocketing, largely because tanks, trucks, helicopters, and other military gear are wearing out in Iraq's harsh climate and have to be replaced faster than ever before, a review of military budgets shows.
The Pentagon's cost for new weapons and equipment has risen sharply since U.S. troops entered Iraq, from about $8 billion in 2003 to more than $24 billion this year, according to statistics compiled by the Congressional Research Service. New equipment now accounts for 20 percent of military expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan; in 2003, new-equipment purchases accounted for about 10 percent of spending.
Pentagon spending also has shot up for operations and maintenance in Iraq, from $43 billion a year in 2003 to $64 billion in 2006, though it is impossible to know precisely how much of that increase is due to repairs on damaged equipment. Those figures also include such items as health care and Iraqi troop training.
The effect of the war on the military's preparedness is a growing point of concern. A report issued last week by two policy research groups in Washington, the Center for American Progress and the Lexington Institute, warned that wear and tear from the Iraq war might affect the military's ability to respond to a crisis.
"We found that much of the Army's arsenal of combat systems was old when the war began and is wearing down at such a rate that there are real questions about the nation's future and military preparedness," said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute.
Questions of preparedness will linger even after combat ends in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army is requesting $13.5 billion this year to repair, replace or upgrade equipment lost or damaged in the war. And officials estimate that the Army will need $12 billion to $13 billion a year for those purposes until at least two years after most troops have left Iraq and Afghanistan.
The cost of replacing equipment is one of the factors likely to make Iraq one of the costliest military engagements in U.S. history.
If Congress passes the emergency spending request that is now before the Senate, the cost of military operations since the Sept. 11 attacks will top $439 billion, with $320 billion of that for the Iraq war alone, according to the Congressional Research Service report.
Even with a significant reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next several years, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that total war spending could top $811 billion by 2016.
By comparison, the 1991 Persian Gulf War cost about $89 billion in today's dollars, while the Korean War cost $455 billion and the Vietnam War cost $655 billion, according to Steven Kosiak, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, an independent policy-research group in Washington.
"This war is turning out to cost far more than anticipated, and not simply because we had to stay in Iraq with far more troops and far longer than the Bush administration expected," Kosiak said. "Compared to past wars and earlier projections of war costs made by the Congressional Budget Office and others, this war is turning out to be very expensive."
None of the upward trends are expected to decline anytime soon.
Last year, the CBO estimated that there was a $13 billion backlog of maintenance and repair costs for war-damaged equipment. It estimated that as much as $60 billion would be needed through 2016, even with a significant reduction in forces in both countries.
Nearly all of the effect has been on the Army and Marines, who've borne the brunt of the ground fighting. Marine Corps officials estimate they'll need at least $12 billion overall to replace lost or damaged equipment.
Army officials say they can't predict what their total costs for equipment and repairs will be.
"It's somewhat of a moving target," Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said Friday during a breakfast with reporters.
Combat in Iraq is pushing military equipment far beyond its usual use.
For example, the Army's M1 Abrams tanks, which normally drive 800 miles a year during peacetime training, are covering 5,000 miles a year in Iraq, more than six times their normal rate, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued last October.
M2 Bradley fighting vehicles are being used just as heavily, while humvees and medium and heavy cargo trucks are being used at 10 times their normal rates.
Helicopters in Iraq are being used at two to five times their normal rates.
Contact reporter Drew Brown at 202-383-6104 or dbrown@krwashington.com.
Ellie
By Drew Brown
Inquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - The cost of the war in Iraq is skyrocketing, largely because tanks, trucks, helicopters, and other military gear are wearing out in Iraq's harsh climate and have to be replaced faster than ever before, a review of military budgets shows.
The Pentagon's cost for new weapons and equipment has risen sharply since U.S. troops entered Iraq, from about $8 billion in 2003 to more than $24 billion this year, according to statistics compiled by the Congressional Research Service. New equipment now accounts for 20 percent of military expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan; in 2003, new-equipment purchases accounted for about 10 percent of spending.
Pentagon spending also has shot up for operations and maintenance in Iraq, from $43 billion a year in 2003 to $64 billion in 2006, though it is impossible to know precisely how much of that increase is due to repairs on damaged equipment. Those figures also include such items as health care and Iraqi troop training.
The effect of the war on the military's preparedness is a growing point of concern. A report issued last week by two policy research groups in Washington, the Center for American Progress and the Lexington Institute, warned that wear and tear from the Iraq war might affect the military's ability to respond to a crisis.
"We found that much of the Army's arsenal of combat systems was old when the war began and is wearing down at such a rate that there are real questions about the nation's future and military preparedness," said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute.
Questions of preparedness will linger even after combat ends in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army is requesting $13.5 billion this year to repair, replace or upgrade equipment lost or damaged in the war. And officials estimate that the Army will need $12 billion to $13 billion a year for those purposes until at least two years after most troops have left Iraq and Afghanistan.
The cost of replacing equipment is one of the factors likely to make Iraq one of the costliest military engagements in U.S. history.
If Congress passes the emergency spending request that is now before the Senate, the cost of military operations since the Sept. 11 attacks will top $439 billion, with $320 billion of that for the Iraq war alone, according to the Congressional Research Service report.
Even with a significant reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next several years, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that total war spending could top $811 billion by 2016.
By comparison, the 1991 Persian Gulf War cost about $89 billion in today's dollars, while the Korean War cost $455 billion and the Vietnam War cost $655 billion, according to Steven Kosiak, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, an independent policy-research group in Washington.
"This war is turning out to cost far more than anticipated, and not simply because we had to stay in Iraq with far more troops and far longer than the Bush administration expected," Kosiak said. "Compared to past wars and earlier projections of war costs made by the Congressional Budget Office and others, this war is turning out to be very expensive."
None of the upward trends are expected to decline anytime soon.
Last year, the CBO estimated that there was a $13 billion backlog of maintenance and repair costs for war-damaged equipment. It estimated that as much as $60 billion would be needed through 2016, even with a significant reduction in forces in both countries.
Nearly all of the effect has been on the Army and Marines, who've borne the brunt of the ground fighting. Marine Corps officials estimate they'll need at least $12 billion overall to replace lost or damaged equipment.
Army officials say they can't predict what their total costs for equipment and repairs will be.
"It's somewhat of a moving target," Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said Friday during a breakfast with reporters.
Combat in Iraq is pushing military equipment far beyond its usual use.
For example, the Army's M1 Abrams tanks, which normally drive 800 miles a year during peacetime training, are covering 5,000 miles a year in Iraq, more than six times their normal rate, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued last October.
M2 Bradley fighting vehicles are being used just as heavily, while humvees and medium and heavy cargo trucks are being used at 10 times their normal rates.
Helicopters in Iraq are being used at two to five times their normal rates.
Contact reporter Drew Brown at 202-383-6104 or dbrown@krwashington.com.
Ellie