After all those sleepless nights of worry, now we find the Pentagon's budget is actually UP?

Posted by John Keller

THE MIL & AERO BLOG, 10 April 2013. The U.S. defense industry must be feeling pretty duped right about now. The 2014 Pentagon budget request is actually UP over last year's proposal, which is leaving many in our industry feeling somewhat bewildered and perhaps more than a little angry.

We've had nearly six months of fear and loathing, gnashing of teeth, and rending of clothing over expected Draconian defense cuts in a slow-motion train wreck that included several fiscal cliffs, budget sequestration, and other tales of doom and gloom that's left the defense industry frozen in a paralysis of uncertainty.

During this extended period in fiscal Purgatory, no one in the defense industry wanted to spend money, hire people, do any internal research, or make any commitments whatsoever over fears of where the DOD budget was headed. Most agreed it was headed downward on a pretty steep slope.

This pervasive fear of the very worst, which has led to company layoffs, research cutbacks, an end to much promotion of any kind, has led to a paralysis of the defense industry the like of which I can't remember over at least the last 30 years.

Related stories -- SURPRISE: DOD proposed budget is UP slightly over last year's Pentagon budget submission -- Electronic warfare spending headed up in 2013 DOD budget in one of only a few growth areas -- DOD plans to spend $5.78 billion for unmanned vehicles procurement and research in 2013.

Well, at long last, now we have it; The fiscal 2014 Pentagon budget proposal came out today, and it's actually UP over last year in accounts our industry cares most about -- procurement, research and development, operations and maintenance, and military construction.

If this had happened nine days earlier, top DOD leaders would have been cackling, "April Fool!"

Here are some details as they're trickling out of the Pentagon today. For fiscal 2014, which begins next 1 Oct., the Pentagon's 2014 DOD budget is proposing $526.6 billion in discretionary budget authority. That's up -- yes, up -- from last year's request of $525.4 billion. Now the DOD's budget goes to Congress for consideration.

The Pentagon's discretionary budget does not include spending proposals for overseas contingency operations -- Pentagon-speak for the global war on terror -- which last year was proposed at $88.5 billion. The DOD budget request released today does not yet include a detailed budget for overseas contingency operations. That budget request will come in the next several weeks, Pentagon officials say.

Okay now. After half a year of sleepless nights, wearing out the carpet on the way to the Tums bottle, sweating over next quarter's revenue projections, and wondering which programs will have to go, are you feeling played?

I know I am. Colleagues had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw the preliminary Pentagon budget numbers, which were released today shortly after 11 a.m. eastern time. All that worry over ... what?

As for now, I think that we in the defense industry can breathe a huge sigh of relief, at least for now. We can find more things to worry about when the budget details come out later today.