WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- As the next U.S. president and Congress wield necessary axes on out-of-control defense spending, there are a number of surprisingly successful and promising programs they should spare.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Today, as it has each year since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Army is seeking to supplement its own budget with "extracurricular" money, mostly in the form of a "wish list" that it sends to Congress each year after an eagerly anticipated congressional request for it.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The Congressional Budget Office says the inventory of the U.S. Army, especially its fleet of ground combat vehicles and armored personnel carriers, continues to shrink, even as the number of combat units has stabilized in the early 21st century.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Today, Army funding is as high as it has ever been since the end of World War II; at this peak level of spending, the force structure is smaller than it has ever been.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Hardly a single one of the U.S. Air Force's claims of extraordinary success for its "silver bullets" and other high-cost and complex systems in its aerial arsenal was able to stand up to serious, independent scrutiny.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Since the start of President George W. Bush's first administration in 2001, while remaining shrunken, the overall U.S. Air Force inventory has aged further.

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- Since early 2001 the U.S. Air Force has received more than $200 billion above and beyond what was then planned for it in the medium-term future. This $200 billion "plus-up" does not include any of the approximate $80 billion that the Air Force has received to support its operations in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Since 2001 the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have received $174 billion more than was then anticipated for the period 2001-2009. This "plus-up," which does not include the additional $95 billion the Navy and Marine Corps also received to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has not helped the Navy on its key force structure measure, the number of ships in the active duty combat fleet.

WASHINGTON, June 3 (UPI) -- "Military Reform: A Reference Handbook," by Winslow Wheeler and Lawrence Korb, is an important and enjoyable guide to the U.S. military reform movement that started in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s and died by the early 1990s.