On February 14, 2012 the Obama Administration released its proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget for the federal government. The request includes $525.4 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD) in Fiscal Year 2013, which begins on October 1, 2012. Adjusted for inflation, this is 2.6 percent below FY2012 levels, the first real decrease in the Pentagon's annual "base" budget in over a decade.

The Defense Department plans to reduce spending by a total of $259 billion over five years and $487 billion over ten years. These figures do not include funding for the nuclear weapons activities of the Department of Energy nor do they include the costs of ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The budget release also includes a funding request of $88.5 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Due to the end of combat operations in Iraq and projected reductions in the number of troops deployed in Afghanistan this amount is considerably lower ($26.6 billion) than the $115.1 billion approved in FY2012. The request provides roughly $85.6 billion for Afghanistan (including $5.7 billion to train and equip Afghan Security Forces) and $2.9 billion for “transition activities” following the departure of U.S. combat force from Iraq.

In its recent analysis, NPP looks at the numbers inside the Pentagon’s FY2013 request. You’ll find:

•    Request Highlights – "Top Line" numbers for the Pentagon base budget and war costs, what's going on with major DoD programs and nuclear weapons work
•    Proposed DoD Cost Savings – Proposed changes in force structure and weapons program reductions
•    Proposed FY2013 Funding Provisions – Funding By Function and Military Service
•    FY2013 Funding Request for Ballistic Missile Defense
•    FY2013 Funding Request for Major Weapons Programs including Per Unit Costs and Total Program Costs