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Timeline: Department of Defense

Explore a historical timeline of U.S. defense policy, highlighting key legislation, military expansion, institutional shifts, and spending trends over time.

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Department of Defense Spending
Dept. of Defense Static Graph

This chart was generated using our interactive charting tool, which visualizes data from the federal spending database released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Featured Content

A Libertarian Vision for Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Refocusing U.S. Defense Strategy

By Benjamin H. Friedman

The department’s budget is built on an overly ambitious strategy that tries to do too much, but leaves us less safe from true threats. Defense is a core federal function, but much of the work of today’s military has little to do with protecting our vital interests.

Media Name: defense.gov_news_photo_090219-a-6797m-101.jpg
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A Plan to Cut Military Spending

By Benjamin H. Friedman

U.S. ground forces should be reduced by one-third over time, which is possible without reducing U.S. security. The Navy should be restructured to operate as a surge force, rather than being a permanent global presence. We should also shift more of the burdens of defense to other prosperous democracies.

military
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Rightsizing U.S. Ground Forces

By Christopher A. Preble

Rising personnel costs have pushed up the defense budget. Support for large ground forces is driven by the view that future wars will resemble those in Iraq and Afghanistan, but combating terrorism does not require the large ground forces that we have today.

Downsizing Government
About

The federal government is running huge budget deficits, spending too much, and heading toward a financial crisis. Without a change of direction in Washington, average working families will be faced with large tax increases and a lower standard of living. This project is designed to help policymakers and the public understand where federal spending goes and how to reform each government department. It describes the failings of agencies and identifies specific programs to cut. It also discusses the systematic reasons why government programs are often obsolete, mismanaged, or otherwise dysfunctional.

Please contact Chris Edwards at cedwards@​cato.​org with questions or comments. 

Information on the data sources for our charts.