Budgeting under critical mass for the Navy: an approach to planning for a steady state defense budget

Abstract

In a time when defense spending is under close scrutiny, each command faces a potential shortage of funding. There is, in theory, a level of resource, called the critical mass of core resources, below which a command cannot continue to fulfill stated mission objectives. This thesis develops a critical mass/core resource model for use in Navy budgeting and applies the model to the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, Crows Landing, CA. The model may be more useful than the current incremental approaches in the formulation, negotiation, and execution phases of budgeting. The model provides a framework that may strengthen and protect the command from priorities imposed by outside forces, or, more likely, will permit commands to identify mission opportunity costs or losses resulting from budget cuts. The critical mass model may be superior to current budget formats in the execution phase because resources are normally allocated on mission priority.