Army, Navy, Airforce & Marines, Asking for Billions More Dollars

OPINION PIECE:

Surprise, surprise, the armed services are complaining that the monies set aside for them during 2008 is simply not enough.

The Army was allocated $141 billion for 2009, however with their hands out front and center, they are now asking for a further $4 billion.

The Marines budget has been set at $25 billion, but they too have their hands out and asking for an additional $3 billion.

The Navy is promised $124 billion but also wants a further $5 billion.

While these figures may seem a lot to the average reader, the Air Force has topped the other three armed services put together, by asking for an additional -- $19 billion, on top of the original amount, this being $144 billion.

There is bound to be a lot of boot licking happening at the moment - and the members of the House Armed Services Committee do like their shoes clean.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have worn down the nation's ground forces, stretching those serving in the Army and Marines and wearing out their gear at an unprecedented rate. [...]

For years, that Pentagon-pleasing panel has asked the services to send it a wish list - lawmakers prefer to call it an "unfunded requirements list" - of budget items they desire but which have not been approved by their penny-pinching civilian overseers, i.e. the Defense Secretary and the President.

When TIME asked some very relevant questions of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Dave Deptula, the Air Force's senior intel officer had this to say:

"his service's needs "are severe and getting worse,"[...]

The list reflects the gap "between where we are and where we need to be."

You may already know that the Air Force has a rather unpleasant colloquial name with the other services - they call it the "Chair Force" because so many of it's personnel work behind a desk.

It's not really the image you want in your head of an armed force that is expected to protect America.

Having generated an 11-page wish list, we find that the Air Force has a "requirement" for dormitory furniture, to the tune of (get this!) $13 million.