The Air Force has requested $110.1 billion in its USAF-specific baseline budget proposal for Fiscal 2013 and another $14.3 billion in overseas contingency funds, according to service budget officials. When factoring the additional $29.9 billion that falls under Air Force accounts, but supports joint initiatives, such as ISR, the service’s total Fiscal 2013 spending request amounts to $154.3 billion, they said. That total is $8.2 billion (five percent) less than the $162.5 billion enacted in Fiscal 2012, they said on Monday in unveiling the spending proposal. “This request reflects difficult decisions required to balance near-term operational readiness with longer term needs,” states the Air Force’s official budget overview document. “The priorities articulated and funded in this budget request achieve the balance required to support the Air Force core functions, force structure, readiness, and modernization that enable us to fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace.” Continue to Reflecting Difficult Decisions.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.