Gates urges legislators to shelve parochial interests

Defense Secretary Robert Gates Tuesday appealed to lawmakers to set aside parochial interests and act in what he believes is in the best interest of the country when considering the Defense Department's fiscal 2010 budget request.

During an interview with reporters one day after announcing sweeping cuts and other major changes to the budget, Gates said he hopes widespread support in Congress for changing the way the Pentagon buys weapons -- fueled by outrage over programs that exceed cost estimates and often do not meet operational needs -- would ultimately persuade lawmakers to back what he has called his "holistic assessment of capabilities, requirements, risks and needs" of the U.S. military.

"I am an optimist," Gates said. "I believe that because there is support on the Hill for acquisition reform, because we have announced this package of changes, it is, I think, a little more difficult for a member to say, 'I'm all for acquisition reform and doing these things better and all that stuff is really good, but this one thing that happens to be in my state should be an exception.'"

Gates added that he expects to have a "very productive dialogue" with Congress over the next several months, but that "you never get 100 percent of what you ask for."

The Defense secretary said he has been disheartened during his two-plus years in office by the lack of budget discipline within the Pentagon and the military services' back-door efforts to persuade Congress to overturn budget decisions.

He said he tried to give the services the "maximum possible opportunity" to share their views during the internal budget negotiations.

"The thing that is important is to reinforce within the building, in terms of dealing with the Hill, that there is a chain of command," he said. "Once the decision is made, and particularly once the president signs off on the budget, then there needs to be discipline about people not conducting guerilla warfare against decisions the president has made."

Gates said he briefed President Obama on his recommendations last week, but the White House has not yet formally signed off on his budget proposal.

But Gates, who required everyone involved in the budget negotiations to sign a non-disclosure form barring them from discussing the deliberations, said he has been "astonished by the discipline showed in this process" over the last three months.

Meanwhile, Gates called his decision to cancel the vehicle portion of the Army's Future Combat Systems, the most ambitious and expensive technological development effort in the service's history, the "toughest and ... the last decision I made."

The eight types of manned ground vehicles, which were slated to be produced by General Dynamics and BAE Systems were valued at $87 billion, or more than half of the total cost of the program.

His decision leaves the Army bereft of a firm vehicle modernization plan. But Gates said current plans for the ground vehicles associated with the program - drafted nearly a decade ago - did not take into account lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The infantry fighting vehicle, for instance, had a flat bottom and was 18 inches off the ground - making it vulnerable to the types of roadside bombs encountered in combat.

"It just seemed to me it was necessary to stop, take a deep breath and kind of look at this whole thing freshly," he said.

Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who joined Gates for the interview, added that there are questions about whether one vehicle could cover the span of operations the military would face. All eight FCS vehicles were to have shared a common chassis.

But Gates called an Army vehicle modernization program "essential" and a high priority of the department. "I think we have an obligation, I have an obligation, to make sure that the money is there for the Army in [20]10, 11, 12, to get on with a new modernization program," he said.

Both Gates and Cartwright reiterated their support for unmanned aerial vehicle programs for the services, particularly the Predator and Reaper drones, which will receive a plus-up in the budget request.

The reliance on drones, Cartwright said, will allow the Air Force to retire 250 of its oldest tactical fighters the Pentagon now wants to stand down.

"These UAVs are a new piece of the equation, it seems to me, in terms of their capabilities," Gates said. "It is not just Predators doing strikes. It is long distances, long dwell."

UAVs, he added, are going to be "an increasing part of the Air Force arsenal going forward."

On personnel matters, Gates said he will not request an increase in TRICARE co-pays and other fees to mitigate rising healthcare costs, as the department has requested for the last several years. Each time, the proposals have been dead on arrival on Capitol Hill.

But Gates said he plans to continue to discuss efforts with lawmakers, in the hopes of communicating effectively to Congress "how healthcare is eating the department alive."