The Obama administration’s Afghanistan troop limit is costing the Army an additional $100 million per year, according to a top U.S. Army general, because the services are hiring contractors so they can rely less on troops.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Mangum, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, testified before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday amid what is considered an aviation readiness crisis.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, asked Mangum about a fiscal year 2015 hearing in which Mangum testified that an Army combat aviation brigade would deploy to Afghanistan with only 800 troops, down from the required 2,800.
To fill the maintenance gap created by 2,000 fewer troops, the Army hired contractors, who would not count toward the troop count in Afghanistan. However, this left those 2,000 troops at home with no aviation equipment to work on, leading to a detraction of skills. When asked what those troops are doing, Mangum replied, “Sir, they’re not doing a whole lot of aviation maintenance.”
Today, those same Army maintainers remain underprepared to preform critical maintenance tasks. “We’re building a deficit of formations and expertise as a result,” Mangum said.
The U.S. was supposed to draw down from its current level of 9,800 troops to 5,500 by the end of this year, but President Obama announced Wednesday that about 8,400 would remain in country through January.
“One of the ways troop caps are reached is [hiring contractors], and it costs more… It’s only a subset of the issues but it’s worth looking at,” Thornberry said.
As a result of continuing troop limits, the practice of hiring contractors to replace military maintainers is still in effect today, costing taxpayers roughly $100 million extra per year than if the Army solely completed the task.
