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350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
Figure 2. Defense Budget, 1981-2000
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
A study of accounts within the DoD indicates that this picture is not as smooth as it
seems. The peace dividend at the end of the Cold War is apparent. It is also clear that the
procurement account is the most volatile.
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Base
P. Req
C. App
Figure 3. DoD Budget Authority by Title, FY1985-2007
When the FYDP is overlaid on the DoD budget, it is clear that the future rarely unrolls
as expected. Over twenty years, only the 1982 FYDP unrolled about as expected. Reality
moved away from the other years as often as the second year of the FYDP. This gives rise
to the adage, “Everyone gets well in the outyears… But the outyears never arrive.”