The Army has been improving its readiness steadily over the past three years, but that is in danger of "stalling out" because there is not yet a "budget deal in place," Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Monday.
"What we're concerned about as a force is the fiscal situation, of a continuing resolution," McCarthy told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo. "We're on day 33, and we don't have a budget deal in place. The Army created a tremendous momentum [in] readiness, as well as modernization efforts, and it's in jeopardy of stalling out."
He explained that three years ago when President Donald Trump took office, there were two brigade combat teams at the highest levels of readiness, while now there are more than 25.
"From a modernization standpoint, we have a strategy that's been blessed by the Congress, a fiscal increase from the 2018-19 budget," said McCarthy.
Senate Democrats last week blocked a planned 2020 spending bill in a partisan move over funding for Trump's border wall, but McCarthy said the Army has made "significant gains" and is positioned to "put a stiff resistance" against actions anywhere in the world.
However, that would come at a "tremendous price," as U.S. weapons systems must be modernized, he warned.
"The key systems that are in our formation are 45 years old," said McCarthy. "We're in the process of modernizing these weapons systems so we can maintain the tech margin we need to win in combat. We're two years in the effort. We have prototypes landing you across the investment portfolios that we will test very quickly but we need the two-year budget deal in order to maintain that edge so we can win outright against any foe."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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