“The subcommittee will come to order. Today the Readiness Subcommittee meets to hear testimony on the military services’ fiscal year 2010 Operation and Maintenance budget request.

 “I thank our distinguished witnesses from each of the military services for appearing before this subcommittee today to discuss funding for the services’ readiness programs.

 “The Operation and Maintenance account is the single largest component of the Department of Defense’s annual budget request.  The military services’ O&M accounts provide funding for such readiness areas as operating forces, mobilization, training and recruiting, and administration and service-wide activities. 

 “For fiscal year 2010, the O&M portion of the budget request comprises $185.7 billion, or 35% of the Department of Defense’s total $533.8 billion baseline request.  The fiscal year 2010 request increases the O&M account by 3.7%, or $6.6 billion over fiscal year 2009. 

 “However, increases in the Defense Health Program account for $3 billion – or nearly half – of the overall O&M funding increase in fiscal year 2010. 

 “Additionally, the Department has requested another $74.1 billion for O&M in Overseas Contingency Operations funding for fiscal year 2010.  O&M is the largest portion of the OCO request at 57% for military operations, subsistence and logistics, including pre-deployment, deployment and redeployment.

 “The fiscal year 2010 O&M budget request basically leaves training at a steady state, signaling that the Department will remain focused on the counterinsurgency mission vice resourcing full-spectrum training.   The fiscal year 2010 budget request relies upon OCO funding to achieve air, ground and sea training at levels required to maintain military standards. 

 “The fiscal year 2010 budget request decreases tank training miles to 550 from a high of 608 in the fiscal year 2009 budget request but keeps them above the low of 459 in fiscal year 2008. 

 "Flying hours slightly increase for the Navy in the base budget from 17.2 in fiscal year 2009 to 19.0 in fiscal year 2010 and with OCO funding climb to 22.0.

 “The Air Force’s flying-hour program has been reduced in the fiscal year 2010 base budget by $67.0 million, but Air Force budget documents state the budget fully funds the flying hour program at 1.4 million hours due to the retirement of roughly 250 aircraft. 

“Additionally, the Navy will reply upon OCO funding to achieve 58 ship steaming days per quarter – compared to a steady-state level of 45 days in the base budget – putting it above the deployed-force goal of 51 days per quarter.

 “What the subcommittee needs to hear from out witnesses today is where each of your services is taking risk in this budget request and how this budget request improves readiness.

 “Our witnesses today are four distinguished military leaders: General Peter W. Chiarelli,
Vice Chief of Staff of the Army; Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, Vice Chief of Naval Operations; General James F. Amos, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps; and General William M. Fraser III, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.”