European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 24, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes tuesday september 24,1885 Pentagon officials rewrite 5-year plan conventional forces not nuclear weapons face cuts Washington not the defense depart ment in an Effort to pare in Long Range spending plan without reducing in nuclear weapons program has approved sweeping cutbacks in projected spending on conventional military forces according to officials of the Reagan administration. In a process described As painful and divisive senior Pentagon officials have been rewriting their five year plan for weapons personnel and operations in Light of congressional Success in ending the administration s Mil itary buildup. The cuts will mean Long delays in the scheduled re placements of older tanks aircraft ships and missiles the officials said. They said the cuts also will sharply curtail efforts in the nut five Yean to replenish stockpiles of ammunition and spare parts key indicator of the ability to outlast an enemy in a conventional War. They said the cuts Are designed to protect the nuclear arms program avoid cancelling major weapons programs and prevent pay reduction that could reduce morale in the armed forces. The Pentagon officials said the cuts might also mean a scaling bad of the administration s goals for expand ing the Active forces including increasing the number of aircraft carriers from 13 to is a top priority of the Navy and expanding the number of air Force tactical fighter wings from 36 to 40. It s Clear that people Are coming to realize the goals we set for ourselves Aren t attainable said a senior budget planner. Nuclear weapons programs which consume about 14 percent of the Pentagon budget have been left intact because Reagan and defense Secretary Caspar Wein Berger assert it is the area where the United states lags furthest behind the soviet Union. Six months ago the Pentagon was planning budgets into the 1990s with the expectation that spending would increase 5 percent to 8 percent each year plus increases to offset inflation. The new spending plans Are being drawn up under a congressional directive that budget growth in 1987 and 1988 be limited to 3 percent plus increases to offset inflation. Many in Congress believe even that estimate will prove too High. The military Bill pending in Congress for fiscal 1986 allows the Pentagon no budget increase beyond one to offset inflation and rep. Los Aspin d wis who chairs the armed services committee said he expects the Pentagon to have difficulty obtaining the 3 percent increase for 1987. Some lawmakers Are holding out for even More austerity arguing that if the spending restriction were properly distributed they would pose no threat to National Security. Meanwhile the Pentagon is trying to Cut $40 billion from its budget proposal for fiscal 1987, which the presi Dent is to Send to Congress in january. The administration plans to request $314.7 billion up from s354 billion projected a few months ago. In All the Pentagon is trying to Cut More than $300 billion from the five year plan that was drawn up in More optimistic Days last year. The Pentagon s internal budget making procedure is not Complete and details Are secret but the general pattern and some specifics emerged in interviews with Pentagon officials and other sources. Some officials said they were willing to talk about the cuts in the Hope that it would persuade Congress to this is not fat that has been Cut said Deputy defense Secretary William h. Taft in. This is muscle. This is capability relax its determination to reduce military spending Al though one senior Pentagon official added realistically it s not Likely to  major new weapons have not been eliminated officials said except for the army s sgt York anti aircraft gun which was cancelled for failing tests and a new air Force training plane the t-46, which was Cut As an Economy measure and May be revived. La an exception to the Effort to pare nuclear weapons the planners agreed to request 21 my intercontinental missiles next year rather than the 48 missiles orig Naoy planned a saving of about is billion. The strategic account Hast been sacrosanct Bat it has been shown deference to Laid one Pentagon offi Cial. It a not taken proportional cot or realty a substantial Cut most of the spending cuts have been made by slowing the Purchase of new aircraft tanks and ships to replace older ones. Deputy defense Secretary William h. Taft in. Who Heads the internal Pauming process disclosed some de tails of these cutbacks in a speech last week. When Reagan s term ends in 1989, Taft said the army which some say will absorb most of the cuts will Hare 20 percent fewer armoured troop carriers 30 Pere eat fewer Patriot air defense missiles and far fewer Behl cup ters and anti tank missiles than the Pentagon projected 18 months ago. We project More than a 20 percent reduction in tactical aircraft for the air Force and 15 percent redaction for the Navy he said along with probable cat backs in heavy transport planes. In addition Taft said. Navy plans for 1989 have been Cut by 20 warships including six of the billion Dobar Aegis cruisers designed to defend the Fleet against air attack. This is not fat that hat been Cut Taft said. This it muscle. This is capability. After we have fully assessed the Impact of the new budget Levels on our programs Taft added we May feel it necessary to recommend larger budgets because of the risks  Pentagon officials said some of the most divisive cuts will be in ammunition and spare parts which Are indications of combat readiness. One internal air Force document indicates that $7 billion has been Cut this summer from its five year $21 billion plan to stockpile munitions. Officials said the army Navy and marines plan similar cuts. Officials said the severity of the cuts would probably mean scaling Back plans to expand the number of fight ing units. For example although the Navy s plan for 15 aircraft carriers is still enshrined in the Pentagon s five year plan a senior official said that he recent budget cutting made that goal doubtful. He said that the Pentagon has slowed the purchases of key escort ships like cruisers and destroyers As Well As anti submarine helicopters and Supply ships that would be needed to accompany the new carriers. The guidance is still is the program is still is the official said but be added that the cutbacks in escort ships have called into question our ability to Ever flesh out is Carrier Battle  the air Force has formally abandoned its dream of building 44 wings of tactical aircraft each including about 100 combat and backup planes. The target is now 40 wings and some officials believe budget pressures will also Force that to be scaled Back. Senior Pentagon officials also considered a proposal this summer to Cut the army s plan to Field four new Light divisions rapid deployment units that Are being formed by reorganizing existing divisions. Taft Ana Weinberger decided to press on with All four although some Pentagon civilians say the new divisions May later fall victim to budget pressures. Gao asks $7.2 billion Cut in Dod s ammo request Washington a the Pentagon has overstated the ammunition needs of the armed Semmes and its appropriations request should be reduced by at least $1.2 billion the general accounting office told Congress monday. The Gao told the appropriations committees of the Senate and House that the army s ammunition request is overstated by ss80.2 million the Navy s by si39.4 Mil Iran the air Force s by j297 Milliou and that of the Manne corps by $75.5 of boo. In addition it Laid the army s $368.4 million request to improve in ammunition production program is overstated by $129.2 million. In our opinion about  billion of the ammunition requests and $129 million of the army s production base requests should not be provided said Frank c. Conahan director of Gao s National Security division in a letter to the two committees. Such action would reduce the total Pentagon ammunition requests for fiscal 1986, which begins in october from the $5.3 billion requested by president Reagan to $4.2billion. Conahan said the Gao based its recommendation on a urge variety of factors including ammunition requests that would produce excess inventory or which have been made for weapons programs which Are far behind schedule or in cases where no further funds Are needed to Meede orrery schedules. In one Case the Oao Laid the army had asked fix j97.6 million for proper my charges and fuses an amount to said would buy More charges and fuses than needed far the projectiles with which they Are used. ,�2" 8aid � m7-2 Mullion so f130,000 105mm cartridges should be eliminated became quantities on hand Are enough to meet the army s needs and new production would Lead to an excess of 190,000cartridges. Mask Anchorage Alaska Dpi eight soviet bombers beaded toward Alaska were chased away from us. Airspace by air Force of is Jet fighters in four incidents during an eight Day period this month officials say. Although there have been is other interceptions this year Mai. Darrell c. Hayes of Elmendorf fab said sunday the number of incidents during the period represented an unusual amount of activity by the Sovi ets. "1 Don t know of any time period when we have had that Many he said. The intensity is considered More than  in oae incident an air Force on Mimi aboard an f-15b obtained what is believed to be the first videotape Ever made of the russian Bear h bomber Hayes said. We gain some intelligence on this by filming these lands of operations he said. The Bear h is designed to carry cruise missiles but the planes involved appeared to be unarmed Hayes said. The first encounter occurred sept. 12 when two soviet bombers were sighted above the Arctic Ocean about 200 Miles North of Barrow Alaska s northernmost Community. Hayes said two f-15a Jet fighters and the f-15b carrying the Camer Aman scrambled to escort tie soviets away from . Airspace. The encounter lasted an hour and the american jets were refuelled while they escorted the Bear bombers toward the soviet Union. Two More interceptions took place tues Day one North of the Aleutian Island Chain and one South of it Hayes said. The fourth incident occurred thursday off the Northwest coast of Alaska. The interceptions brought the f-151 within a couple thousand feet of the soil it Craft Hayes said. Although the soviet planes did not Acta ally penetrate is. Airspace Hayes said we have zones of identification and it anybody flew into them we would go Check who it is just to let them know we re  most of the Fiss normally based at Elmendorf fab in Anchorage had bean stationed at the Remote Galena base when they were called into action Hayes said. ? �