Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Army is curtailing plans to cut what it spends on running its bases worldwide after concerns from soldiers and congress that services for military families might suffer.
Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. announced the step Friday in a statement. McHugh said the Army will add $500 million to its budget for base operations and will not "shortchange our soldiers and their families."
The Associated Press reported in January that the Army was planning cuts as deep as 40 percent at some bases as it sought to hold down non-war spending while escalating the fight in Afghanistan.
That report and soldier complaints prompted members of Congress to tell Army officials they were concerned the cuts would weaken programs for spouses and children dealing with soldiers' repeated combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It was also not immediately clear if the $500 million would erase or just reduce the cuts planned for bases.
The Army figures obtained by the AP showed the overall budget for base operations was set to be reduced 20 percent this year, without providing a total figure. Cuts for individual bases ranged as high as 40 percent.
Officials at Fort Campbell on the Kentucky-Tennessee border had said they expected a cut of 40 percent, from $177.5 million to $106.5 million, this year as about 20,000 soldiers are deploying to Afghanistan.
The reductions did not affect direct funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but the Obama administration has tightened the bookkeeping for other military spending. A study by the Government Accountability Office found that there had been few restrictions in the past, so the White House Office of Management and Budget issued new rules designed to move indirect war costs into the base budget.
