Bush proposes $4 billion for Joint IED Defeat Organization
Allocation would be a major improvement over previous years; IEDs continue to take a toll, yet technological responses remain problematic; other budget winners include the Future Combat System and BioSense
Radio-controlled IEDs remain the greatest threat to troops in Iraq these days, and thus developing systems to counter them is a major priority for the Defense Department. Not that such is an easy task. Readers may perhaps remember our earlier report that IED jammers currently in use in Iraq and Afghanistan have had the unfortunate effect of also interfering with tactical radio systems, particularly those belonging to the Naval Sea Systems Command. Not that the problems are unsolvable. They just require more money, which is exactly what they will get under the 2008 budget proposed this week by President Bush. DoD has asked for $4 billion in funding in its fiscal 2008 budget and $2.4 billion in its fiscal 2007 supplemental budget for the Joint IED Defeat Organization. These numbers are an improvement on the $1.9 billion allocated to the organization in 2007 and the $3 billion provided in 2006.
Overall, Bush requested roughly $481.4 billion for the Defense Department for fiscal 2008 — an 11.3 percent increase over 2007. A few specific budget winners in the president’s proposal: The Army’s Future Combat System, which will receive a $300 million increase for a total of $3.7 billion; $1.6 billion for research and development related to chemical and biological warfare; and $88 million for the BioSense biosurveillance program, $10 million more than approved by Congress for 2007.
-read more in Bob Brewin’s FCW report
