Issue Paper: RAND Research Suggests Changes in Department of Defense Internal Pricing

摘要

The popular image of the U.S. military is of Air Force, Army, Marine, or Navy units undertaking operations in the national defense. Supporting these 'warfighting' units, however, is a large infrastructure of personnel and facilities that fixes equipment; provides stistenance, weaponry, and compensation to military members; and pays the government civilian employees and contractors who support them. Some of these support activities are integrated into warfighting units. Others are separated into autonomous organizations. Many of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) support organizations, including the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and portions of the military services' supply and repair activities, do not typically receive appropriations from Congress. Instead, they earn funds by selling their services to warfighters. Warfighting organizations (e.g., the Air Force's Air Combat Command, the Army's Forces Command, the Navy's Atlantic Fleet) are given 'appropriated' (e.g., budgeted) funds, which can be spent on a variety of activities, one of which is support services.