An analysis of the departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy budget offices and budget processes

Abstract

The objective of each of the budget offices of the Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy is to create a budget request to be submitted to the Secretary of Defense for incorporation in the President's Budget. The primary objective of this thesis is to familiarize the reader with the composition and responsibilities of these budget offices in order to demonstrate how they meet this objective. The focus of this thesis will be on the Department of the Navy and the subordinate of the two services of which it is composed, the Marine Corps. This thesis will use a macro to micro process providing an overview of the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System at the Department of Defense level, a summary of each department's budget office to include their composition and responsibilities, a description of the appropriation processes of the Department of the Navy and a summation of the Marine Corps budgetary process. This process will ensure that the reader sees how a budget is developed, on all levels, from the all-encompassing DOD to the smallest of the services the Marine Corps. The process described in this thesis reflects the timelines in place prior to August 2001. Although the timelines have changed, the process remains essentially the same.