Fighting forces get no break on fuel costs
By ANNE FLAHERTY – 23 hours ago
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers at the pump aren't the only ones suffering sticker shock. Military units fighting in Iraq and elsewhere will see another hike in fuel costs next week, the second midyear increase because of soaring oil prices.
On July 1, the cost for refined fuel paid by troops will jump from $127.68 a barrel to $170.94 — an astounding 34 percent jump in just six months and more than double what they were paying three years ago. It's the second such increase in the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30.
That means warfighting units, which purchase their fuel at a set price through the Defense Logistics Agency, will start paying $4.07 a gallon for jet fuel. The price is $1.03 more than they have been paying since December but puts costs more in line with a market that has pained the average American.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka said Friday that the price hike is needed to cover an anticipated $1.2 billion rise in fuel costs in the next three months. While a $400,000 a month increase in fuel costs won't affect ongoing military operations, it will require a "reprioritization of daily support activities," he said in an e-mailed statement.
It also will impact a federal budget already stretched thin by the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan. The U.S. is spending nearly $10 billion a month in Iraq and more than $2 billion in Afghanistan.
Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said the price increase makes the case that Iraq should start paying some of the military's fuel costs because of its hefty oil reserves.
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By ANNE FLAHERTY – 23 hours ago
Article Link
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers at the pump aren't the only ones suffering sticker shock. Military units fighting in Iraq and elsewhere will see another hike in fuel costs next week, the second midyear increase because of soaring oil prices.
On July 1, the cost for refined fuel paid by troops will jump from $127.68 a barrel to $170.94 — an astounding 34 percent jump in just six months and more than double what they were paying three years ago. It's the second such increase in the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30.
That means warfighting units, which purchase their fuel at a set price through the Defense Logistics Agency, will start paying $4.07 a gallon for jet fuel. The price is $1.03 more than they have been paying since December but puts costs more in line with a market that has pained the average American.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka said Friday that the price hike is needed to cover an anticipated $1.2 billion rise in fuel costs in the next three months. While a $400,000 a month increase in fuel costs won't affect ongoing military operations, it will require a "reprioritization of daily support activities," he said in an e-mailed statement.
It also will impact a federal budget already stretched thin by the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan. The U.S. is spending nearly $10 billion a month in Iraq and more than $2 billion in Afghanistan.
Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said the price increase makes the case that Iraq should start paying some of the military's fuel costs because of its hefty oil reserves.
More on link
