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OPTIONS FOR RECONFIGURING
SERVICE ROLES AND MISSIONS
 
 
March 1994
 
 
NOTES

Unless otherwise indicated, all years referred to in this paper are fiscal years.

Numbers in tables may not add to totals because of rounding.
 
 
PREFACE

The roles and missions of the military services have remained essentially unchanged since they were established, in broad terms, in 1948. Recent international events and U.S. budgetary pressures may now provide the impetus for reviewing the allocation of tasks and resources among the various services. This paper, prepared at the request of the Senate Committee on the Budget, examines various ways to realign missions as they are currently assigned to the services. Consolidating support functions and eliminating conventional forces that duplicate capabilities fielded by more than one service could lead to significant budgetary savings. This paper contains several options for revising service roles and missions and examines the savings that could result as well as the effect on service capability. In keeping with the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) mandate to provide objective analysis, this paper makes no recommendations.

Frances M. Lussier of CBO's National Security Division prepared this paper, with the assistance of Lane Pierrot, David E. Mosher, and Ivan R. Eland, under the general supervision of Robert F. Hale, Neil M. Singer, and R. William Thomas. William P. Myers and Raymond J. Hall of CBO's Budget Analysis Division provided the cost analysis. The author wishes to thank Richard L. Fernandez for his assistance.

Paul L. Houts edited the paper, Christian Spoor provided editorial assistance, and Cynthia Cleveland prepared it for publication.
 

Robert D. Reischauer
Director
March 1994
 
 

CONTENTS
 

SUMMARY

I - INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

II - ILLUSTRATIVE CHANGES TO CURRENT CONVENTIONAL FORCES TO REFLECT REVISED ROLES AND MISSIONS

TABLES
 
S-l.  Areas for Possible Consolidation as a Result of Changing Roles and Missions
S-2.  Support Activities in Which Consolidation Could Realize Savings
S-3.  Savings Resulting from Illustrative Changes in Service Roles and Missions
1.  Savings Resulting from Relying More on the Marine Corps for Expeditionary Forces
2.  Savings Resulting from Illustrative Changes in Tactical Air Forces Supporting Ground Forces
3.  Savings Resulting from Relying More on the Air Force for Power Projection
4.  Savings Resulting from Increasing Reliance on Army Systems for Theater Missile Defense
 
BOX
 
1.  Current Service Roles and Missions

This document is available in its entirety in PDF.