The FY15 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) request—the war funding request—helps illustrate how much further the defense budget needs to go to adjust to statutory spending caps. We have previously noted how realistic the base FY15 defense budget request was, given the statutory limits of the Budget Control Act, and explained how much the base request favored funds that support readiness—the ability of the force to respond today. The OCO request, however, either diminishes some of that focus on readiness, or else suggests there is still more funding that needs to transition from OCO to base budget for military readiness to be fully funded.
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