https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/1/trump-space-force-parade-scuttled-inflating-cost/
Pentagon officials accused of artificially inflating costs to scuttle Trump priorities
Public opinion turned against military parade, Space Force after high cost estimates
FTA:
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The idea of using sticker shock to undercut one of Mr. Trump’s controversial proposals was used to great success over the summer. The president’s plan for a military parade in Washington was initially estimated to cost somewhere from $10 million to $30 million and had tentatively been scheduled for Veterans Day.
By mid-August, however, Pentagon officials began whispering that they would need to spend about $50 million on military vehicles, aircraft and equipment for the parade. Another $42 million, they said, would need to be divided among federal agencies and departments handling security for the event, bringing the overall cost to a whopping $92 million.
In on-the-record comments, the Defense Department said that figure wasn’t final, but once it had leaked into the public discussion, the idea quickly died. Mr. Trump pulled the plug on the parade shortly after the $92 million figure was leaked.
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In its September memo outlining the $13 billion in costs, Air Force officials proposed spending nearly $600 million for additional personnel, $1 billion to build a combatant command headquarters, $7.2 billion for “Space Force elements” and a host of other expenses.
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But analysts say the Space Force, at least in its first few years, could be established with a far more modest budget.
They argue that space-related parts of existing services, such as the Air Force Space Command, could stay in their current facilities but simply work under the organizational umbrella of the Space Force. Some analysts question whether it’s necessary to follow the Air Force’s blueprint and move large, expensive departments such as the National Reconnaissance Office into the Space Force. They also say the new branch could use other services’ recruiting facilities.
“You can do this with almost no investment of dollars if you choose to and let it evolve,” Mr. Loverro said.
More broadly, some retired military officials argue that critics of the idea inside the Pentagon are choosing to focus on how difficult and expensive a Space Force could be rather than looking for ways to stand it up cheaply and efficiently.
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Darn! We’ll just have to do perp walks on 11/11 then lol
I’m not going to add anything from the article except disgust.
Trump gained millions from questionable tax strategies: New York Times
nite
Anyone in the Pentagon who opposes Space Force should be GONE IMMEDIATELY.
Space is the high ground in any future conflict. To fail to address it, for a military officer who is supposedly knowledgeable of such things, is tantamount to treason.