Department of Defense Press Briefing on the President's Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Budget for the Army

Q: We're just sitting here quietly. Can I ask you a quick question about the book? 

(UNKNOWN): No.  (Laughter.)

Q: In that green book – the Army green books that were printed – are those the correct numbers? Because the glossy DOD overview is incorrect as far as OCO and base?

(UNKNOWN): The green numbers.

Q: Those are right? 

(CROSSTALK)

Q: Thank you. 

(UNKNOWN): Interesting. (Laughter.)

(UNKNOWN): And it starts.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JASON BROWN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Lieutenant Colonel Jason Brown. I'm the chief of media relations at Army Public Affairs. With me today is Major General Paul Chamberlain, the director of the Army budget, and Mr. Davis Welch his principal deputy.

For about the next 30 minutes, we'll be briefing the Army 2019 budget overview. Afterwards, upon completion, we'll have about 10 minutes for questions.

General Chamberlain, sir.

MAJOR GENERAL PAUL A. CHAMBERLAIN: Good afternoon. I'm Major General Paul Chamberlain, the director of the Army budget. And, this afternoon, Mr. Davis Welch and I will present to you an overview of the Army's 2019 budget, which, when funded, will support the – the National Defense Strategy.

I will provide you an overview of the Army today, beginning with the global environment, followed by how this request supports the administration's strategic objectives and Army leadership priorities. We will then spend some time providing a by-appropriation view of the Army's request, highlighting key areas.

America's Army must remain the world's preeminent ground force, able to compete, deter and win decisively. To this end, the Army must be equipped, trained and ready to meet the ever-changing character of today's multi-domain battlefield.

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: Today, the Army has over 180,000 soldiers supporting the combatant commands worldwide. But more than 99,000 soldiers overseas in over 140 countries, supporting various types of missions, ranging from combat operations, partnering exercises and humanitarian assistance. 

The Army supports the 2018 National Defense Strategy by providing a combat-credible war-fighting force, postured and capable of deterring global competitors, preventing conflict and shaping the global security environment. 

The revisionist powers of China and Russia, the rogue regimes, such as Iran and North Korea, along with transnational threat organizations, particularly terrorist groups, pose a broad range of very real threats to U.S. interests. Our regional competitors in the Pacific and in Europe have been studying our strengths and our vulnerabilities for more than a decade. Their modernization efforts are slowly eroding our competitive advantage, and this budget request addresses that, by providing the necessary resources to ensure the Army's superiority.

The Army must be able to, if necessary, win in a multi-domain battlefield, a battlefield that requires integrated capabilities in fires, cyber, electronic warfare and space, and be capable of striking the enemy and improving friendly survivability against a sophisticated enemy in a contested environment. 

The Army's role and the nation's ability to maintain peace through strength requires us to refocus and strengthen our force-on-force decisive action capability, maintain our counter-insurgency competencies for the current fight, and develop superior capabilities for warfare in all domains. 

Attaining a level of overmatch underpins the nation's diplomacy. Overmatch deters aggression, it helps to shape the international environment, and protect our nation's interests. The Secretary of the Army, and the Chief of Staff of the Army are committed to providing the nation a lethal, agile, and capable ground force, both now and into the future. Key to this effort is predictable, consistent funding from year to year, every year, commensurate with our requirements.

So let's look at the Army's budget over time. As you can clearly see from the chart, the Army’s total budget declined from fiscal year '12 to fiscal year '16. During the same time period, inflation averaged 1 to 2.5 percent a year, which further reduced the Army's buying power.

The enactment of the FY '17 Consolidated Appropriations Act significantly increased funding levels, to begin halting the Army's readiness decline. The FY '18 budget request, assuming full enactment, will continue to improve readiness. Likewise, the fiscal year '19 request also continues improving readiness, as well as restoring end strength, and investing appreciably in the Army's modernization efforts, providing our Army with technological overmatch.

Specific to the base budget, which is depicted in blue, the Army sustained a level of decisive-action readiness, while it conducted counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. 

As base funding declined due to fiscal pressures like the debt ceiling and the Budget Control Act, the Army had to manage more risk in force-on-force war-fighting competencies, and modernization investments. The two bipartisan budget agreements provided the necessary flexibility by enacting Overseas Contingency Operations funding to mitigate some of the impacts of these fiscal constraints, and avoiding even more reduction to the Army's current and future readiness.

The funding the Army received for Overseas Contingency Operations also trended downward over the same timeframe. This decline correlates the drawdown of force manning levels in Iraq and Afghanistan during those years. 

However, the fiscal year '17 OCO funding increased, as manning requirements in Iraq and Syria grew, and the enemy threat increased, requiring the Army to invest in technological advancements to improve soldier lethality and survivability.

The combined view of base and OCO funding shows the FY '19 budget request as a continuation of the enacted FY '17 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and the FY '18 budget request, to rebuild warfighting readiness. 

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: However, sequestration remains a threat, and long-term legislative relief from it, in conjunction with timely enactment of increased funding over multiple years, will ensure the Army is able to remain the preeminent ground-fighting force in the world, and fulfill its obligations to the National Defense Strategy.

With this budget submission, the Army continues its efforts to become more lethal, resilient and ready in order to face current and future threats. The budget themes listed represent the framework from which the Army will provide the combatant commands the best trained and ready land forces in the world.

This budget request funds ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations around the globe. It also funds counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency training, ensuring the competencies mastered over the past decade and a half of fighting are sustained.

The resources applied in this budget for additional end strength will increase unit readiness levels and support the creation of select units to acquire necessary capabilities, taking significant steps towards increasing Army's warfighting readiness and increasing the Army's capacity for force-on-force decisive action.

This budget request funds modernization reform initiatives that will increase the Army's agility and lethality, providing for more timely, efficient and cost-conscious modernization of critical platforms and infrastructure.

In fiscal year '19, the Army will continue to empower cross-functional teams to champion the six modernization priorities: long-range precision fires, next generation combat vehicles, future vertical lift, the Army network, air and missile defense and soldier lethality, in order to bring new and emerging technology to the battlefield sooner.

Ultimately, these modernization efforts will allow the Army to expand technological overmatch and competitive advantage against near-peer competitors and prepare for other emerging threats, resulting in a more lethal combined arms force that is capable of responding rapidly to a global crisis.

The fiscal year '19 budget invests in infrastructure upgrades that will increase the capacity of our organic industrial base. It also improves the condition of training facilities and provides for more realistic training environment, which also improves readiness.

This budget also invests in our power-projection infrastructure, which is critical to ensuring the Army remains rapidly deployable. It also resources Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercises by land and by sea, known as EDREs and SEDREs, to improve our global responsiveness.

In addition to these exercises, this budget funds joint interoperability and international partnership exercises that demonstrate the Army's power-projection capability, both unilaterally and with our partners, providing confidence to our allies and serving as a deterrent to our adversaries.

As the Army increases its warfighting readiness, we remain committed to achieving the highest levels of accountability and stewardship, by meeting statutory requirements to develop and maintain a culture that supports auditable records at all levels of the Army, as required by the 2010 NDAA.

Tied closely to audit readiness is process reform, which will improve the way we do business. 

These budget themes, framed by the Secretary of the Army's priorities of readiness, modernization and reform, demonstrate the Army's unwavering commitment and investment in its soldiers, civilians and families. This budget will help to further the goal of building a more lethal, agile and capable Army.

The Army's base budget request of $148.4 billion, a growth of almost $9.5 billion over the FY '18 request. These funding totals reflect the combined resource requirement for all three components: the regular Army, the National Guard and the Army Reserve. And as you can see, it is broken out into the major appropriation categories.

I will point out specific budget information by component and by appropriation in greater detail later in this briefing.

However, I will now describe the aggregate level where the growth has occurred and how the growth supports improved readiness and modernization.

The growth in the operation and maintenance accounts, the military pay accounts, of $3.1 billion and $2.6 billion, directly improve total Army readiness.

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: This growth supports the pay for the increased end strength, to improve unit manning levels and the additional training required to achieve the highest levels of readiness.

The majority of the growth in the investment accounts are in areas that will increase warfighter readiness, soldier lethality and force-on-force capability. The Army's request for procurement in RDT&E grew approximately $4 billion from last year's request. Further details on each of these appropriations will be discussed later in this briefing. 

The Army's total end strength at the end of Fiscal Year '12 was over 1,131,000 soldiers, and was declining steadily from year to year, with a planned decrease to as low as 990,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal year '17.

During this time, the Army took steps to reduce end strength across all three components, yet remain responsive to the combatant command requirements. Army senior leaders made specific force-structure decisions about unit end strength and Army capabilities, accepting risk in certain areas to maintain the level of readiness necessary to address the threat, while avoiding a hollow force. 

The 2017 NDAA authorized a total end strength of 1,018,000 soldiers, reversing the planned drawdown. This authorized end strength increase addresses unit personnel requirements necessary to arrest the Army's readiness decline. 

Congress has since authorized an additional 8,500 end strength increase in the 2018 NDAA. If funded, these additional soldiers will continue to fill units, as well as reconstitute lost capability that resulted from a smaller force designed to face a different threat. 

The end strength in fiscal year '18 will build select capability that increases warfighter readiness and fills capability gaps associated with the multi-domain fight.

The Army requests an end-strength increase of 4,000 in fiscal year '19, building upon the authorized FY '18 growth. These forces will be used to increase the Army's lethality and capacity, by resourcing specific units such as fires, air defense, logistics and others.

The military personnel accounts for the largest portion of the Army's base budget. The fiscal year '19 request of $60.6 billion is an increase of $2.6 billion from FY '18. The increased funding fully compensates a 1,030,500 soldier Army, and represents a 4.5 percent growth in the Army's military pay accounts.

This growth not only supports the additional end strength, but also covers the 2.6 percent pay raise and increased allowances for housing and subsistence, of 2.9 and 3.4 percent respectively. 

The military personnel accounts also include funding for recruiting and retention incentives, education benefits, permanent change-of-station moves and training days in the reserve components.

In order to obtain the higher end strength in FY '19, the Army requires timely funding within the military personnel accounts and the operation and maintenance accounts, to support advertising, recruiting and retention efforts.

The active Army's Operation and Maintenance Account, OMA, represents the second largest appropriation category within the Army and provides for the day-to-day requirements, which includes, but is not limited to, training, equipment maintenance, transportation and facility sustainment.

The fiscal year '19 request for OMA is approximately $3 billion over the FY '18 request. This funding continues to restore the Army's core decisive action capability, through home-station training and exercises. It further resources 20 decisive action Combined Training Center exercises in Fiscal Year '19. Four of these exercises are specifically for the Army National Guard, emphasizing the interoperability between the active component and reserve components, while also ensuring the Army's brigade combat teams are trained and ready to face near-peer competitors.

The OMA request also increases the availability of armor and infantry brigade combat teams, referred to as BCTs. It also supports the Security Force Assistance Brigades, known as SFABs. SFABs are designed to conduct advise and assist missions with our partners and allies, thus reducing the demand for armor and infantry brigades that conduct those missions now. 

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: This will ultimately increase our capacity two-fold; first, by increasing the availability of our decisive action BCTs, which would otherwise be called upon to conduct advise-and-assist missions; and secondly, by increasing our allies' combat effectiveness.

This request for OMA will help to ensure the active Army's equipment is at the highest possible state of readiness. The request invests in the organic and industrial base and the Army's ammunition management programs, improving the Army's overall warfighting readiness.

Within the fiscal year '19 request, the Army improves its global posture and rapid response capability by investing in and modernizing its prepositioned stocks and by conducting joint interoperability exercises with partners and allies in the European and Pacific theaters.

Specific to the reserve components, the Army's 2019 budget request supports a $10.3 billion O&M requirement for the Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve.

For the Army National Guard, its 2019 O&M request is aligned with its 2018 request. Consistent with the regular Army, it seeks to continue restoring readiness and base operation support, as well as providing funding to continue supporting family and soldier programs that promote the wellbeing of the Army's most valuable asset – our people.

With an end strength of 343,500, the Army National Guard focuses on mission-specific unit training in order to increase unit proficiency. 

For the U.S. Army Reserve, their $2.9 billion O&M budget request supports 79 functional brigades, its three installations and over 700 reserve centers, as well as the professional education and specialized skills training for 199,500 soldiers.

Now that we've spent the past two minutes discussing the Army's increase in capacity and warfighter readiness, I will transition to Mr. Davis Welch, who will help present the Army's fiscal year 2019 investment in modernization priorities. 

Davis

DAVIS S. WELCH: Thank you. 

Good afternoon. It's my pleasure to come before you to discuss the FY '19 president's budget submission with respect to the Army's investment appropriations. 

The technical overmatch the United States Army enjoyed over the last several decades has enabled our Army to defeat potential enemy formations, but it has eroded.

While we focused our resources to defeat an adaptive enemy in counterinsurgency war and sought incremental improvements to existing, proven platforms, our competitors and potential adversaries acquired technologically advanced weaponry and improved their warfighting capabilities.

The result is the Army will be tested in every domain of warfare: space, cyber, maritime, air and land. The Army is at an inflection point. We can no longer afford to defer modernization. We must expand capabilities, and we must develop new ones. 

In response to the challenge, and in support of the National Defense Strategy, the Army developed its modernization strategy with a focus of making soldiers and units more lethal to fight and win our nation's wars.

With increased procurement funding requested in FY '19, the Army addresses capability gaps by increasing investments to improve mobility, survivability and lethality in combat, and combat service support vehicles and aircraft.

Requested ammunition and missile procurements address the needs of the combatant commanders and the renewed emphasis of decisive action in the training base. The upper right of this chart reflects the Army's six modernization priorities. 

Our modernization strategy involves institutional reforms to consolidate Army modernization end to end. It requires a culture of innovation and accountability. It requires improving the Army's requirements, research, experimentation, capability development, procurement and fielding processes.

With this President's budget request, the Army realigned science and technology efforts to its modernization priorities and significantly expanded prototyping.

MR. WELCH: The lower-right pie chart shows the Army's capability portfolios. In the next two slides on procurement, I will highlight how our budget request supports those priorities.

For the procurement appropriations, our FY '19 request is $3.3 billion over our FY '18 request. And, as you can see, the increases are in the weapons and tracked combat vehicles and other procurement Army appropriations.

Over the past several years, under constrained budgets, the Army endeavored to strike a balance, but ended up prioritizing near-term readiness over modernization. With our FY '19 request in procurement funds, the Army more robustly addresses its modernization needs, strengthening our formations with superior capabilities. 

To highlight these efforts, I'll focus procurement in four capability portfolios. Within the aviation portfolio, the Army continues incremental modernization of existing fleets to provide the most capable rotary-wing aircraft to the operational force.

Through a combination of new build and remanufacturing older Apache aircraft, this request delivers Model E aircraft with the ability for manned and unmanned teaming. Apache pilots can remotely fly the Gray Eagle and Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles and control their payloads. 

The multi-year new build contract represents a cost avoidance of $425 million between FY '17 through '22. 

This request replaces older Black Hawk helicopters with the latest M model, delivering an advanced digital avionics suite for improved situational awareness, improved rotor blades and engine for better performance and lower operating costs, and an integrated vehicle health management system for more reliable combat aircraft. The new multi-year build contract represents a cost avoidance of over $500 million between FY '17 through '21. 

Additionally, this request procures new special operations Chinook aircraft. The G Model Chinook features more sophisticated avionics than earlier models and includes a digital Common Avionics Architecture System. 

In the ground maneuver portfolio, we seek to accelerate the speed with which we are modernizing our brigade combat teams through a combination of incremental improvements to proven platforms and new equipment fielding to increase capabilities in mobility, survivability and lethality.

We are requesting funds to improve Abrams tanks. Enhancements will incorporate a second-generation Forward-Looking Infrared Radar in the gunner's primary site and a commander's independent thermal viewer, provide an upgraded armor package, as well as improved engine and transmission.

Funds requested to expand Bradley Fighting Vehicle capabilities will procure a newer, larger engine and a new transmission and a smart power management system for better electrical power distribution. 

We will procure armored multi-purpose vehicles, or AMPVs, replacing Vietnam-era personnel carriers in our armored combat brigade formations, fulfilling the Army strategy of protection, mobility, lethality and interoperability.

Requested funds procure Paladin Integrated Management sets comprised of self-propelled howitzers and tracked ammunition carriers, providing greater lethality, survivability and a commonality with existing systems in the ABCTs. 

MR. WELCH: When combined with our European Deterrence Initiative funding, this president's budget request equates to modernizing 1-1/2 armored brigade combat teams. 

With respect to the air and missile defense portfolio, and consistent with our focus on competitors and near-peer threats, the FY '19 request provides critical munitions for combatant commanders. We are replenishing wartime stockpiles of preferred and advanced munitions to increase lethality. 

Our P.B. request increases procurement of GMLRS rockets, as well as funds the facility improvements to increase the production rate. This request represents a 62 percent increase over FY '18 in the ATACMS service life extension program. 

This request, in addition to procuring Patriot MSE missiles, procures Patriot launcher modification kits. The MSE missiles provide performance enhancements that counter new and evolving threats, while the modification kits allow the launchers to fire both the PAC-2 and the MSE missile.

In the mission command portfolio, the FY '19 request continues the Army's initiative to deliver a survivable, secure, mobile and expeditionary network capable of providing situational awareness and joint interoperability, enabling the Army to fight tonight. 

The Army restructured mission command, focusing on programs that met mission requirements and added capability. Requested funds continue fielding Increment 2 of Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T, to all active component infantry and Stryker BCTs. Funding requests supports the fielding of six IBCTs and one Stryker BCT from items that were procured with FY '18 funds.

The Joint Battle Command-Platform is the Army's next-generation friendly force tracking system, equipping soldiers with a faster satellite network, secure data encryption and advanced logistics. JBC-P is accelerated to baseline all Army formations and fill that critical capability gap of mounted mission command.

This chart lists selected procurement programs and the requested quantities. To provide a complete picture of the procurement program, this chart reflects both base and OCO requests in munitions and EDI replenishments. 

We seek Congressional support in our President's budget request for these programs, as the Army must modernize to revitalize capabilities, providing overmatch, and to support the rest of the joint force.

Turning towards research, development, test and evaluation, the Army's request is $700 million more than its FY '18 request. Funding accelerates incremental upgrades to existing systems, delivering greater capabilities to our soldiers sooner, and advances cutting-edge technologies to gain and retain overmatch against competitors and potential adversaries.

The Army established its modernization priorities last fall, and our then-acting secretary directed a comprehensive review of science and technology portfolio to ensure proper alignment of S&T funds against those priorities. 

The review also determined what efforts to accelerate to retain or extend overmatch capabilities. While much of the RDT&E budget request already supported the Army's priorities, this review resulted in $234 million being redirected in the S&T portfolio.

I will now highlight initial efforts in each of the six priorities. 

MR. WELCH: Long-range precision fires: S&T investments focus on critical technological areas of propulsion for extended-range missiles and extended cannon artillery. 

In FY '19, we'll conduct a concept development for a Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile, a single multi-mission attack missile and extended-range cannon artillery. 

Next generation combat vehicle requested S&T funds, we'll explore combat vehicle design, innovative vehicle protection concepts and advanced-power generation and distribution technologies. Concept-development efforts included active protection systems and a robotic combat vehicle. 

Future vertical lift S&T funds emphasizes critical technology and aviation protection and aircraft survivability, improves situational awareness and advanced power systems.

Concept development efforts include next-generation tactical unmanned aerial system, degraded visual environment sensors and advanced engines and drivetrains.

In addition, we will continue flight demonstrations of the two joint multi-role technology demonstrator aircraft. 

Network S&T funding supports advancing cyber electromagnetic activities and mission-command applications. Funds emphasize concept development and cyber operations and modular radio-frequency communications, as well as developing precision positioning, navigation and timing, and a global positioning system denied battle space. 

Air and missile defense-requested S&T funds will access technologies and high energy lasers and advance seekers and advance propulsion.

Concept development includes multi mission high-energy laser and a high-energy laser tactical vehicle demonstrator. 

Supporting soldier lethality requested S&T funds support technology areas of soldier and squad weapons, training and prolonged field medical care. Concept development includes hostile-fire locator system and advanced fire-control technologies. 

As these S&T funds mature, they will provide technology options to the cross-functional teams or CFTs. Each modernization priority is supported by one or more CFTs, organized to exploit key provisions of the acquisition reforms enabled by Congress.

CFT objectives are to narrow existing and projected capability gaps, develop requirements, inform broader development of the capability areas within the modernization priorities, execute technical demonstrations and rapidly transition leader-approved capabilities to programs of record and enter the Army's acquisition process.

To jumpstart the CFTs efforts and to facilitate initial capability development, this budget request of $38 million for experimentation, prototyping and technical demonstrations.

I will now highlight several areas outside the S&T there are of significance. Long-range precision fires is being developed as a replacement for the ATACMS missiles. The long-range precision fires will have increased range, lethality and an open-systems architecture. 

FY '19 funding supports two-technology maturation and risk-reduction competitive prototyping flight demonstration agreements.

Mobile protective firepower provides protected long-range precision direct-fire capability for infantry brigade combat teams. FY '19 funding enabled a Milestone B decision, followed by an engineering and manufacturing development contract award for up to two vendors to provide prototypes, ballistic hulls and test assets.

MR. WELCH: Combat-vehicle prototyping focuses on the development of the next-generation combat vehicle, integrating new and emerging technologies in its design, improving lethality and protection, while reducing weight and power requirements. Requested funds support concept development, trade studies, technology maturation, testing, prototyping and demonstration of combat vehicles, both manned and unmanned.

Requested funds for short-range air defense address the Army's critical shortfall defending maneuver formations and other tactical echelons from low-altitude, fixed-wing, rotary-wing, unmanned aerial systems, rocket artillery and mortar threats.

FY '19 funds complete fabrication production representative articles, and begins testing to achieve an urgent material release toward solutions to mitigate this capability gap.

In summary, Army RDT&E investments implement the Army's modernization priorities through early integration of concepts, prototyping and testing, to ensure future generations of soldiers continue to be the most lethal fighting force in the world.

One facet of readiness is the Army's infrastructure, providing first-rate facilities on our installations where soldiers and civilians work, train and live. We require ready and resilient installations that serve as power projection platforms to shape the global security environment.

This chart represents new construction and is a companion effort to the dollars spent in operations in maintenance appropriations for facility sustainment, restoration and modernization.

The military construction budget of $1.25 billion is across all three components: regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves. Construction projects are in 21 states, Germany, Honduras, Korea and Kuwait, And the Army family housing account totaling just over $700 million, which supports the day-to-day operation and maintenance of existing units worldwide, as well as six new construction projects in Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, Germany, Italy and Korea.

The Army's BRAC funding request supports environmental clean-up, restoration and conveyance of excess properties at locations designated under previous BRAC rounds.

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: Thank you, Davis.

Also within the Army's budget request are several other base requirements that are funded separately outside the main appropriations we've addressed.

This year's requests include $71 million for the Arlington National Cemetery to fund the day-to-day operations for the final resting place for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

The Army is also requesting $994 million for the Congressionally-mandated chemical de-militarization program that demonstrates the Army's environmental responsibility. Fiscal year '19 funding supports continued plant operations at the Pueblo, Colorado, and Bluegrass, Kentucky, chemical agent destruction pilot plants, as well as the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Project, supporting both sites and their surrounding communities.

The Army has been managing large overseas contingency operations budgets since 2001. Funding in this account increases and decreases as contingency operations expand and contract. The Army's 2019 OCO budget request represents requirements in military personnel, operations and maintenance, research and development and acquisition. This year's multi-component OCO request totals $33.7 billion.

The 2019 OCO request supports Operation Freedom Sentinel, Operation Spartan Shield, and Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. It also supports the European Deterrence Initiative and counter-terrorism operations around the globe.

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: The request includes approximately $5.2 billion for the Afghan Security Forces fund and $1.4 billion for the counter-ISIS train and equip requirement. The $3.2 billion of MILPERS portion of this OCO request primarily supports mobilized reserve component soldiers and maintains the current end strength levels in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The O&M represents almost two-thirds of the Army's OCO request, which includes the pass-through accounts. The funding supports theater operations, such as mobilization, transportation, force protection, base operation and equipment reset. The procurement accounts provide funding for replacement of battle loss, ammunition consumption and pre-positioned stocks in Europe.

As I recap, I must highlight the Army's 2019 budget is a strategy-based request aimed at achieving a broad range of requirements that will help to ensure the Army is able to compete against China and Russia, deter Iran and North Korea and respond to any threat around the globe.

Specifically, this budget builds capacity for decisive action, providing the nation with a more lethal ground force. It improves interoperability with our allies, the reserve components and our sister services. 

Further, this budget demonstrates our stewardship and responsibility to the American taxpayer through reform initiatives and audit readiness, improving our ability to deliver high states of readiness affordably and efficiently.

Ladies and gentlemen, outlined by the National Defense Strategy, the Army's FY '19 budget request resources the path the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army established for expanding the Army's overmatch, ensuring we are a combat-credible warfighting force postured to deter global competitors, prevent conflict and protect the national security interests of our country.

The Army stands ready to compete, deter and win.

Thank you for your attention, and we're now ready to take some questions.

STAFF: Ladies and gentlemen, we have about five minutes for questions, so – yes, guys – yeah, sorry – so, when called on, please state your name and organization, and  please limit yourself to one follow-up, OK? All right. 

And, Jen?

Q: Hi. Jen Judson with Defense News. 

I wanted to ask a little bit more about the European deterrence initiative. It looks like the entire account is up at $6.5 billion this year, from $4.8 billion last year. What's the Army's portion of that? And can you elaborate or break down what exactly the Army's portion will be going towards this year – just a little more granularity on that? 

And it's my understanding that there will be a troop increase this year, any increase in force presence, but that that may happen in 2020. So can you talk about what you're doing to prepare for that?

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: So, as you stated, it is up. A majority of it is on the investment side, and I'll allow Mr. Welch to address some of the investment pieces.

MR. WELCH: Within the EDI for 2019, it's a quantity of 40 Abrams for $455 million; 61 MSE missiles for $260 million; 66 AMPVs, armored multi-purpose vehicles, for $230 million; 61 Bradleys for $205 million; and HIMARS rockets, $171 million. That's the bulk of the increase. We're still doing the heel-to-toes and that sort of thing.

But this is getting at combatant commanders' requirements, stockpiling munitions, and it's also getting to the modernization of brigade combat teams.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: (off mic) as well, those -- or are those separate -- addition to the ones that (inaudible) on the table?

MR. WELCH: The chart that listed the selected equipment that was both base and OCO combined.

Q: Just to follow up...

(CROSSTALK)

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: So, for the personnel we'll have to get back to you on that with the numbers. So Jason will take care of that for us.

Q: Do you have a breakdown of what the total Army section of the EDI portion of the budget?

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: We'll make sure that we get you that. OK.

Q: I may have read the slide wrong, but, on 155-millimeter shells, it said it was going up from $16 million to $145 million. Is that meant to replenish wartime stocks, or is this something new?

MR. WELCH: It's a replenishment of wartime stocks, and also, building stockage in theaters' requirements, for mission requirements. 

Reporter: Sorry.

MR. WELCH: I have to go back through and double-check the number. The number $1.5 million seems a bit high. 

Reporter: 140,000.

MR. WELCH: $140,000 dollars?

Reporter: No, rounds

MR. WELCH: Oh, thank you.

Q: Hi, Lauren Williams, Federal Computer Week. 

I just wanted to ask, what's the Army's planned DIUx investment would be, and the use of other transaction authorities to modernize.

MR. WELCH: I'm sorry, I missed the question.

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: DIUx.

Q: DIUx investment, and the planned use of other transaction authorities to help modernize.

MR. WELCH: The Army continues to use other transaction authority to help modernize. I don't have the amounts handy, but we can provide what was done with this past fiscal year to be able to demonstrate that our commitment to use that as an opportunity, or an option.

Q: And that would be kind of like a blueprint for FY '19 and beyond, what was done last year?

MR. WELCH: We explore all options of trying to accelerate the modernization, to bring things on quicker, and other transaction authority, and DIUx is one option to be able to do that.

Q: Hi, James Drew from Aviation Week. 

Could you say if there's been any re-phasing in the future political procurement plan, or acquisition plan? I think it's jumped to number three Army modernization priority, so could you say if there's been any major change to that program?

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: On future vertical lift, there's several efforts that are ongoing there to try to accelerate the technologies, but any change to the re-phasing, we'll have to get back to you on that. I'm not familiar with the change of the re-phasing, unless you have something on that, Davis.

MR. WELCH: I'm not familiar with that either.

Q: I just want to see if there has been any acceleration of that program, given that we've got one prototype flying now, and has there been any increase in Army push for that program to come online sooner?

MAJ. GEN. CHAMBERLAIN: The push is to bring as many technologies forward, as fast as we can. Specific to the future vertical lift, anything that is available, and that we can accelerate, that's what we're going to go after. 

LT. COL. BROWN: Folks, we've got time for about just one more question.

Q: Can you clarify, the answer to Jen's question? The Abrams and Bradleys that you're adding for the EDI, is that all for the third armored brigade that is supposed to be in Europe, or is this something in addition to that?

MR. WELCH: I think it’s more towards completion of the second armored brigade combat team, pre-position set.

Q: The second pre-position set. OK, thank you.

Reporter: These are all pre-position equipment. It's all for pre-positioned equipment.

(UNKNOWN): Yeah, yes.

Q: Like the 48 these would be modified Abrams that would be earmarked to be pre-positioned in Europe?

(UNKNOWN): Yes.

Q: Gotcha. Thanks. 

LT. COL. BROWN: Sir, we've got to make way for the Navy. I'm sorry we cut you off, but thank you all for coming. 

Major General Chamberlain will be hosting a media roundtable tomorrow to answer more of your questions, from 9:30 to 10:00 A.M. For follow-up questions and details in attending the roundtable, please contact Wayne Hall on my staff, and his number is (703) 693-7589. 

Again, Wayne Hall at (703) 693-7589. Thank you.