Pentagon sources warn of training cutbacks

WEB EXCLUSIVE Jamie McIntyre: Pentagon unprepared for Bush action

In this story: Pentagon had planned on funds Senators fret over 'readiness' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Just days after being told by the White House that it could not send Congress a supplemental budget request, Pentagon sources told CNN that the U.S. military might have to curtail training later this year.

Sources said the Joint Chiefs of Staff have told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that the military needs an immediate infusion of $5 billion to $7 billion for fuel and spare parts to maintain the current pace of military operations and training.

"There is serious concern about the ability to carry out the current program if there is not a mechanism put in place to pay the bills," said one senior officer, expressing the concern of the chiefs.

Pentagon had planned on funds

The White House informed the Pentagon earlier this week that, unlike past years, it would not be submitting a supplemental budget request to Congress, to pay for the shortfall in operations and maintenance accounts.

	MESSAGE BOARD
The U.S. military

The Pentagon was counting on the supplemental appropriation to pay for programs that were not included in the 2001 budget, including the cost of peacekeeping in the Balkans, and $1.4 billion in unfunded health care benefits.

Sources said the military chiefs were surprised by the decision by President Bush, who campaigned on the theme that the U.S. military was overstretched and underfunded.

In a speech one week before the election, Bush said, "My good running mate Dick Cheney and I have a message to all of our men and women in uniform and to their parents and to their families: Help is on the way."

Senators fret over 'readiness'

Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Virginia, has sent a letter to the president, signed by nine influential GOP senators including John McCain, appealing for money for "serious readiness and personnel problems which require immediate attention."

A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, admitted there was a lack of clarity in the new administration's budget plans, but defended the deferral of any requests for extra money to meet emergency needs, saying the door has been left open for a supplemental request to be submitted later this year.

"I think that the president and the secretary have been pretty clear as to their support for a very strong military," Quigley said. "But the president's been equally clear about his desire for a good, thorough, comprehensive look at what the needs are before we start investing in the future."

Privately some Republicans on Capitol Hill said the president has made a major misstep just as he is planning to visit U.S. military bases next week to highlight his administration's support of the military.

"I just think they have created a mess that they don't understand the dimension of," grumbled one top congressional staffer.

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The Pentagon: Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld

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