Mark F. Cancian and Chris H. Park
As the U.S. force surge into the Caribbean continues into its sixth month, the question arises: How much does this campaign cost? A rough answer is $31 million per day. Of this, $28 million was already in the budget, but about $3 million is unbudgeted. The Department of Defense (DOD) will need to cover this by cutting other programs, using money from the reconciliation bill, or persuading the White House to ask Congress for more money. The major cost is the strategic trade-off: Forces in the Caribbean limit assets available for other hotspots, such as the Middle East or the Indo-Pacific. That is, however, a trade-off the administration has said it is willing to make.
The Fiscal Costs
The FY 2026 budget includes funds to operate the ships and aircraft deployed to the Caribbean and to pay the service members who operate them. The table below shows the authors’ estimate for those forces fully engaged in operations. Beyond these, many forces and capabilities have been used intermittently, like bombers, satellites, and cyber.
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