In a recent op-ed in the Duluth News Tribune Secretary Rumsfeld noted the importance of science and technology to the Global War on Terrorism. The Secretary stated:
The president's budget also provides for close to $1.7 billion for the next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator and Global Hawk, which have proved invaluable in operations against terrorists. These aircraft will be bigger, faster and far more lethal in their ability to locate and destroy targets with speed and precision. These advances are made possible by aggressive research and development efforts, which are funded in the new budget with $10.5 billion for science and technology.
In an op-ed that ran just 729 words on an agency the size of the Department of Defense with a nearly $420 Billion budget is is notable that the Secetary spent time discussing the importance of science and technology.
Full article after the jump.
Duluth News Tribune
February 11, 2005
Demands On Military Make Higher Defense Spending Necessary
By Donald Rumsfeld
Early in his first term, President Bush directed that the Department of Defense rethink its Cold War-era assumptions and transform into an institution capable of addressing the unconventional security challenges of a new century. The president's vision received added urgency with the attacks of Sept. 11 and the subsequent campaign against extremism and terror.
In response, defense spending has increased by more than 40 percent since Sept. 11, not including the additional spending for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget the president is proposing for the 2006 fiscal year will continue that spending commitment, with a 4.8 percent increase from last year to more than $419 billion.
These increases are needed. And, as a nation, we can afford them.
Even with the spending increases of the last several years, the United States commits just more than 3 percent of its gross domestic product to defense.
But transforming defense has little to do with how much we spend. More significant than those spending increases has been a notable shift in our priorities -- away from an emphasis on size, mass and concentration toward more readily deployable and agile forces that use the latest information technology to operate with greater reach, speed and precision.
The president's 2006 budget continues this trend. It funds, for example, a next generation Navy destroyer -- designed to be manned by a crew of about 100 sailors (as opposed to 300 sailors on current destroyers) that will be able to move into coastal waters and strike targets deep inland. In addition, not all of these shifts require building new platforms. A 20-year old Ohio-class Trident ballistic missile submarine -- originally conceived as a nuclear deterrent -- has been adapted to carry up to 66 Special Forces troops and be capable of launching both cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Such a vessel will be put to sea and be prepared to conduct operations this year.
The president's budget also provides for close to $1.7 billion for the next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator and Global Hawk, which have proved invaluable in operations against terrorists. These aircraft will be bigger, faster and far more lethal in their ability to locate and destroy targets with speed and precision. These advances are made possible by aggressive research and development efforts, which are funded in the new budget with $10.5 billion for science and technology.
Despite the increases in military combat power in each of the services, operations in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to place high demands on the Army to deploy troops with the right skills for today's unconventional missions.
In response, and under emergency authorities granted by the Congress, the active Army has grown by thousands of soldiers and, by the end of this fiscal year, will be up 30,000 -- not including activated Guard and Reserve forces -- from four years ago.
This increase in numbers is accompanied, however, by an even greater increase in lethality and capability. The Army is redesigning itself away from large, heavy, Cold War-style divisions to more rapidly deployable and lethal "modular" brigade combat teams. Therefore, an increase in the size of the active Army by less than 10 percent is being matched by an increase in the number of deployable brigade combat teams by approximately 30 percent.
The Special Operations Forces, which have played a critical role in Iraq and Afghanistan, will grow further in this budget by 1,400 personnel and four Navy SEAL platoons. The president's budget also funds new incentives packages to retain the most experienced Special Forces troops.
Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere across the globe highlight the tremendous capability of U.S. forces and the promise shown by speed, lethality and flexibility made possible by new technologies and tactics. As the president begins his second term, we recommit ourselves to questioning old assumptions and outlining new strategies to prepare our forces for the conflict of this century. Ultimately, though, our country's security comes down to the courage and resilience of the men and women in uniform, who have performed so heroically and who have sacrificed so much. It is on their behalf that we must continue the drive to transform, and the president's 2006 budget is an important step along that path.
DONALD RUMSFELD is the United States secretary of defense.