On April 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered the most fundamental restructuring of defense acquisition in at least two decades, taking the unprecedented step in post-Cold War history of killing half-a dozen major acquisition programs and radically restructuring the Army’s flagship modernization effort.

DoD Buzz contributing editor Greg Grant will live blog the Pentagon press conference with Sec. Robert Gates as he announces the winners and losers of the first defense budget under a Democrat president in eight years. Tell us who you think should get the cash and who should get the axe at this live event at 1330 EDT today.

UPDATED: Expect First Word About Cuts Soon After Noon Monday After ‘Big 8′ Congressional Leaders Briefed By Gates. Detailed briefings for congressional staff on Tuesday morning.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to announce major changes to the Pentagon’s acquisition budget Monday afternoon. “These are not changes to the margins. This is a fundamental shift in direction. And the secretary’s point of view argues for an unconventional approach in explaining that shift to the American people,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Friday. Gates will call congressional leaders and brief them Monday morning.

As his days in office dwindle, the Pentagon’s acquisition czar John Young has issued a five-page memo slamming the latest GAO criticism of Pentagon acquisition, calling it “misleading, out-of-date and largely irrelevant to the current management of DoD programs.” Young argues the acquisition system is not “broken.”.

As it looks increasingly likely that the Army’s FCS program will be either seriously trimmed or cut altogether, FCS supporters are digging in for a lengthy battle. Senator James Inhofe is leading the fight to develop a costly new mobile howitzer that is designed for conventional battlefields, not the irregular wars of today or tomorrow.

Pakistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan. That sums up the real American strategy over the next year or so. “We could do all sorts of great things in Afghanistan and still be completely screwed if things go bad in Pakistan,” David Kilcullen, the Australian counterinsurgency expert who worked closely with Central Command’s Gen. David Petraeus to help turn around the situation in Iraq, said Wednesday night. The center of gravity — the Army and ISI intelligence apparatus.

Rep. Jack Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said today that his plan to buy tankers from both Boeing and Northrop Grumman will save taxpayers billions of dollars, principally by retiring the aging tanker fleet more quickly.

UPDATED: With Confirmation, Explanation by DNI spokeswoman
President Barack Obama is expected to approve a new constellation of highly classified multi-billion dollar spy satellites in the next few days, injecting a major new expenditure into the Defense Department budget that was not planned when the administration began its budget deliberations. Gates and Blair signed a classified memo approving the program on March 30.