DOD Sequestration
How DOD Experiences with Fiscal Year 2013 Sequestration Could Inform
Future Planning
________________________________________________________________________

Fiscal year (FY) 2013 sequestration reduced federal agency resources
across the board. Overall, DOD reduced its total discretionary resources
subject to sequestration by about 7%.

[circle chart]
$527.7 billion: DOD's discretionary resources subject to sequestration
$37.2 billion: Sequestered (7%)
________________________________________________________________________

How FY 2013 Reductions Were Allocated
DOD's appropriations accounts subject to sequestration were reduced as
follows:

[pie chart]
55%
Operation and Maintenance
(reduced by $20.3 billion)	26%
Procurement
(reduced by $9.8 billion)	16%
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation
(reduced by $6.1 billion)	3%
Other
(reduced by $1.0 billion)

________________________________________________________________________

Effects from FY 2013 Sequestration
DOD took near-term actions to preserve key programs and reduced spending
on lower priorities.  However, DOD identified certain negative effects
resulting from FY 2013 funding reductions. For example:
-	Increased costs and spending: Navy's P-8A Poseidon aircraft program
experienced procurement delays, which increased life-cycle costs by an
estimated $56.7 million. [image of airplane]
-	Cancelled activities, delayed timeframes: Air Force cancelled or
reduced participation in most of its large-scale planned FY 2013
training events, which may delay achievement of readiness goals in the
longer term. [calendar]
-	Decreased force availability: Navy cancelled or delayed ship
deployments in FY 2013, which resulted in a 10% decrease in its deployed
forces worldwide. [image of soldiers]
________________________________________________________________________

Mitigation Strategies and Lessons Learned
DOD used various strategies to mitigate FY 2013  sequestration effects:
-	Prioritizing critical functions [image of priority list]
-	Using unobligated funds to offset reductions [image of money
transferring]
-	Transferring and reprogramming funds
DOD has not fully documented or assessed lessons learned from FY 2013
sequestration, and could miss opportunities to incorporate effective
practices into its future planning.

Source: GAO analysis of Department of Defense (DOD) data.