Defense Programs and Spending

The Defense Department (DOD) made significant steps toward downsizing the defense structure and budget. During the past decade, the number of men and women in uniform has declined by 28 percent and the defense budget had dipped from $391 billion to $252 billion in constant 1995 dollars. However, DOD has not fully analyzed assumptions underlying its new force structure and some assumptions are questionable; role and functions of the military services have yet to be sorted out; and a substantial mismatch between programs and funding continues. DOD wastes billions of dollars each year because of long-standing inefficiencies in its day-to-day operations and because it has been slow to take advantage of opportunities to reform systems and processes, make further reductions in infrastructure, and cut costs.