Army Told to Spend or Lose Mobile Tech Funds

The Pentagon is planning deep spending cuts this year to a new mobile computing network for soldiers - a move that critics say punishes Army technology buyers for not spending appropriated funds fast enough.

The story of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), its supporters say, illustrates the perversity of Washington’s appropriations and procurement system, where ongoing programs are penalized for not spending money according to schedule.

“You can’t just take money away if it isn’t spent on time,” said retired Marine Corps Gen. Arnold L. Punaro, now a consultant and a member of the Pentagon's Defense Business Board. “It is easy [for a project] to fall behind, [but program managers] can catch up again quickly. But if you take the money away, they have no way to get back on track.”

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