A budget crunch has prompted the Army to cut dozens of medical training courses and Navy leadership has informed Congress they will run out of money in about two months.
The news comes as the price tag for the ongoing Iran war has hit $29 billion, according to the latest estimate. Military officials have pointed out that the war was not planned for in the 2026 fiscal year budget.
ABC News reported that the Army is facing a shortfall of $4 billion to $6 billion and is being forced to make cuts. So far, 34 medical-related courses have been canceled. The outlet added that the cuts were occurring at the Army Medical Center of Excellence and that a memo stated the reductions happened because of "funding shortfalls and limited resources."
"The Army has issued guidance to subordinate commands – for the remainder of this fiscal year, to make tough and sound resource decisions that optimize and prioritize resources toward their most critical requirements, to include major training and readiness events," Col. Marty Meiners, a service spokesperson, said in a statement to ABC News.
The Army is not the only military branch facing a budget squeeze.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle told Congress this week that the Navy will run out of money in about two months without a cash infusion, the Navy Times reported.
"I will have to start making decisions to change training, operations, certification events, those type of things we do to generate our force, in the July timeframe and their current expenditure," Caudle said according to the Navy Times.
Previously, Jules Hurst III, the Defense Department's acting comptroller, said that the Iran war cost had hit $29 billion, an increase of $4 billion since the past update. Hurst said, according to Navy Times, that the additional cost was related to "updated repair and replacement of equipment costs" and the "general operational costs."
According to Caudle, the budget shortfall is directly related to the Iran war.
"The [fiscal 2026] budget didn't bake in [Operation] Epic Fury," Caudle said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. "You see a large Navy force in the Middle East. So we're burning bright ... but it does come at cost, and it comes at operational costs."
