Average U.S. Troop Cost Nearly Doubled Since 1980
The average cost to the U.S. defense budget per individual troop member has increased sharply over the past few decades, a new analysis from the Congressional Research Service found, reflecting changes in the size and structure of the U.S. military.
“Since FY1980, the cost per troop–for all expenses ranging from pay to procurement–has almost doubled in real terms from $200,000 per troop in FY1980 to $390,000 per troop in [the] FY2016 request,” the CRS report noted.
The rising average troop cost figures were presented as part of a larger CRS analysis of Defense Spending and the Budget Control Act Limits, dated May 19, 2015.
Another new CRS report considers 16 alternate scenarios under which it might be possible for the U.S. to produce 80 plutonium “pits” for nuclear weapons each year by 2027, as mandated by Congress. See Nuclear Weapon ‘Pit’ Production: Options to Help Meet a Congressional Requirement, May 14, 2015.
Yet another new CRS report discusses the history and status of U.S. relations with Pakistan, including key points of contention and cooperation. See Pakistan-U.S. Relations: Issues for the 114th Congress, May 14, 2015.
Denice Ross, former U.S. Chief Data Scientist and Data Policy Institute lead at the Federation of American Scientists, will be honored for her stewardship of public data by the National Academy of Public Administration, where she has been named a Fellow.
Confirmation that the construction of the security perimeter and associated security infrastructure at RAF Lakenheath are still ongoing once again raises questions about whether U.S. nuclear weapons have already been deployed to the base.
Alaskans are sensibly pulling back from the vogue for bans and returning to a western tradition that has worked for more than half a century – one that welcomes innovation but also oversees it closely.
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