Rep. Van Orden Questions SOF Official on Military Budget Cuts and Platform Roles

Special Operations Forces (SOF) Role in Budget Talks

• 🎯 Rep. Van Orden questioned Colby Jenkins, performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for SOF, about his role in military budget discussions, specifically concerning the cutting of platforms essential for SOF operations.
• 🤝 Jenkins confirmed that SOF has processes like DMAGs and RMAGs to engage with services and the comptroller's office to defend SOF equities and influence proposals.
• 🗣️ Van Orden inquired if SOF's assessment holds significant weight in these multi-billion dollar platform decisions, using the analogy of being at the 'kid table' versus sitting with decision-makers.
• 🏛️ Jenkins stated that SOF leadership actively participates in budget briefings, sitting near senior officials, but acknowledged the ongoing struggle to ensure SOF's unique culture and needs are fully understood and supported as a distinct entity within the DoD.

SOF Budget Allocation and Unfunded Requirements

• 📊 It was stated that less than 2% of the DoD budget is spent on SOF operations.
• ❓ Van Orden requested specific percentages of the SOF budget allocated to JSET programs, jets, and SOF skills for nation-building efforts, noting past failures in nation-building since Vietnam.
• 📝 Jenkins agreed to provide detailed information on these budget allocations and the percentage of the SOF budget used for JSET programs, which can also support building high-tier forces in allied nations.

Operational and Maintenance Deficits

• 📈 General Fenton acknowledged that component commanders begin each year with an operational and maintenance (O&M) deficit.
• 📝 Van Orden requested data on the delta between what component commanders are allocated and the total of their unfunded requests (euphers) over a 5-year average to advocate for increased O&M budgets for SOF.
• 🤝 This data aims to provide concrete numbers to support efforts to bolster the O&M budgets for Special Operations Forces component commands.