Bloomberg View: The Case for Shrinking the U.S. Military

Blinking for the first time since budget sequestration went into effect, House Republicans want to restore $10 billion to a category of Pentagon spending that few Americans probably know exists: “operations and maintenance.” O&M, which includes everything from upkeep of military hardware to flight-simulator training to salaries for the department’s 800,000 civilians, is the biggest platter on the Pentagon budgetary buffet, at $209 billion for fiscal 2013. Pay and benefits for troops are second at $135 billion, and weapons purchases lag at $98 billion.

While runaway spending on F-35 fighters and other big-ticket programs needs paring, solving the Pentagon’s long-term budget problem will depend greatly on cuts in the number of troops and the backup army of civilians and contractors that supports them, as well as smart reforms to pensions and health care.