Congress passed declaration of war language for World Wars I and II that provides the military with practically unlimited resources and relaxed accountability during times of war. This "lank check policy," while not an official policy, continued through twentieth-century wars. Toward the latter half of the twentieth century, the war powers struggle between the Legislative and Executive Branches resulted in instances of Congress under-funding war efforts and increased scrutiny of in-theater spending. In spite of the under-funding, the Defense Department continued to extend the blank check policy of spending to the combatant commander. The shortfall of funding was filled by reprogramming of annual appropriations for Vietnam, contingencies of the 1990s and the current war in Iraq. This thesis builds on the studies of Walter Rundell, Leonard Taylor and William Rogerson who pioneered the critique of financial management in combat. Building on these works, the resource management environment of Multi-National Force-Iraq is critically analyzed. The negative consequences of excessive spending are discussed. These consequences are linked to the strategic mission and the support of the American people, which ultimately determines the funding levels of the Defense Department. Benefits gained in the blank check policy are compared to the negative consequences.

Approved for public release: distribution unlimited / This thesis identifies and analyses the main aspects and challenges that have occurred to Georgia's National Security after regaining independence. Economic Security is the initial subject of analysis. The thesis examines the Ministry of Defense as a public sector agency; the problems in government institutions resulting from the old Soviet mentality and the lack of leadership skills in a democratic society which led to Georgia's political crisis and economic decline, as occurs to most countries in transition; specifics about the distribution of financial power in an unstable economic environment decline and the negative effects of instability on defense reform processes, particularly in the implementation of the PPB(E) System. The intent of this research is to explain the interrelationships of harmonious, sustainable growth and PPB(E) as an established system for transparency. The thesis provides a record and explanation of events that caused the current problems in defense planning and the budgeting process as well as recommendations for future improvements to the PPB(E) System in the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF). The main focus is on policy formulation and budget execution; performance; accountability; fiscal discipline; and transparency. The conclusion summarizes the paper, which presented the arguments for successful reforming processes in the GAF, particularly in its medium-term budgeting cycle. / Major, Georgian Army

No description available.

No description available.

Growing world-wide commitments and potential naval threats in the future will challenge the U.S. maritime forces to become more integrated and interoperable. The Total Fleet Concept calls for a maritime force for the nation that essentially combines the assets and unique capabilities of each maritime agency available to the U.S. government and forms a scalable force that can be employed around the globe to accomplish missions in the national interest. The U.S. Navy is the preeminent maritime power in the world. However, it has concentrated almost exclusively on maintaining its capability at the Blue-water level of operations. In light of the emerging asymmetrical threat from non-peer competitor forces, the Navy has embarked on a stated program of building up its littoral and lowlevel regional capability in order to engage these adversaries in their own environment. This thesis studies the Navy's budget requests of the Future Years Defense Program. It also examines whether these budget requests and the long-range 30-year shipbuilding plan is leading to the transformational Fleet that is envisioned by the Total Fleet Concept, or is a continuation of the predominantly Blue-water operations focused Fleet and the assets that accompany that strategy. / US Navy (USN) author.

This thesis describes the evolution of the defense budget process in Ukraine, from independence to 2006. It identifies and evaluates factors that directly affected the development of the defense budget process and determined the distribution of power in that process and examines the efficiency of defense budgets as policy tools. This study contributes towards an understanding of the relative power of the executive versus the legislative branch in shaping defense policy. It concludes that important but limited progress has occurred in the defense budget realm in Ukraine since independence. The absence of a clear political guidance, deficiencies of defense legislation, and insufficient levels of co-operation between the executive and the legislative branch of the government are key problems involved in defense budgeting and reform in Ukraine. Certain improvements and overall intensification of efforts occurred as a result of the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan in 2002. Actions undertaken by the Ukrainian government during the period from 2002 to the beginning of 2006, including the introduction of the law On Organization of the Defense Planning in 2004, had a minimal impact because of insufficient interest at the legislative level.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis looks at House budgetary actions in the 97th Congress in 1981 and 1982. In 1981, despite the opposition of the economic committees and the Democratic majority leadership, the House voted through a budget drawn up by the White House. In 1982, however, they refused to pass a budget drawn to President Reagan's blueprint. The first chapter is a narrative of the events of those two years. The second chapter is an account of the theoretical literature on the subject which pose several questions about those events and also suggest some answers. The third chapter is a statistical analysis of nine House roll calls over the two years. It attempts, first, to identify those Representatives who made the difference between Presidential victory in 1981 and frustration in 1982. Second, it tries to explain what these marginal presidential supporters had in common and what made them switch sides. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

The Air Force is currently developing Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV). The UCAV is projected for initial testing by 2010. However, after reviewing the Office of Secretary of Defense's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap for 2005 2030 / obtaining squadrons of UCAVs will cost billions of dollars and require decades to produce. The United States cannot afford to wait decades for unmanned weapons. Technology is spreading fast. Third world countries without stable economies and non-state actors are able to obtain/develop sophisticated weapons that are capable of destroying tactical aircraft. With sophisticated weapons easily obtainable, the risk of losing people in air combat is increasing significantly and that in turn is creating a level playing field for potential U.S. adversaries. Unmanned weapons technology can help America retain its military edge. However, since unmanned warfare capability is still decades away and is a multi-billion dollar project, America needs a quick fix. This study will argue that the most effective way to decrease risk-of-life and budget costs is to introduce F-16 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) aircraft for combat. This thesis will answer the question: How can the government seize the unmanned aircraft advantages and decrease defense spending until the UCAV is operational? The answer to this question will illustrate how an effective F-16 UAS force can synchronize resources to properly complete UCAV development while instantly reducing risk of life.