, i'm -- welcome to "this week in defense news," i'm vago muradian. what to expect at america's biggest defense show, the association of the you state armies, exhibition and conference here in washington, from the man in charge from putting it all together. but, first, bradenton's royal air force is the most sophisticated and capable in the world, a leader in the multinational operation in libya, but the raf has suffered deep cuts as bradenton attempts to shrink its national debt, including jump jets and maritime patrol planes. analysts have said it may be about 4 billion pounds or about $6.4 billion short over the coming years. i caught up with air chief marshall sir steven dalton, the raf chief in london recently at the secure equipment and international show. i asked sir steven how much his force is likely to get in the 2012 budget and what kind of cuts he faces in the coming years. >> what really happened is we've looked at the program overall in detail in the last 18 months and we're now pretty sure, actually, that we're in a position to afford t

i'm vago muradian. the u.s. military is the world's largest user of energy. last year consuming some 5 billion gallons of fuel at a cost of nearly $13 billion, 255% more than it spent in 1997. equally important is that protecting that fuel has cost lives. in afghanistan alone, the defense logistics agency is moving 40 million gallons of fuel each month in convoys that have to be defended against attacks. between 2003 and 2007 alone, 3,000 soldiers and contractors were killed or wounded protecting fuel supply lines in iraq and afghanistan. those casualties spurred a major pentagon tribe to develop alternative energy sources while also improving the energy efficiency from everything from future weapons. culminating in the first-ever d.o.d. strategy aim at changing how the department thinks and uses energy. october is energy awareness month and we figured this would be a good idea to get some of the pentagon's top energy minds together to talk about the efforts to date and what's ahead. joining us today are casper hammock, the assistant secretary of the army for

thanks for joining us for this week in defense news, i'm vago muradian. you can watch this program online at defensenewstv.com or e-mail me at vago@defensenews.com. until then, have a great week.

i'm vago muradian. britain is soon to unveil a new defense industrial policy. we talk to uk acquisition chief peter luff later in the show. but, first, the pentagon spends nearly $7 billion a year and has long been criticized as being inefficient and wasteful. last year the defense secretaryy was also ordered to serve as the pentagon's chief management officer. it also created the post of deputy chief management officer, a job filled by beth mcgrath who has 20 years of defense management experience. ms. mcgrath, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks very much for having me. >> let's start out, you've been on the job for about a year, what have you accomplished and what do you hope to finish in the remainder of your term? >> i think that to your point about the congress establishing the role of chief management officer last year was very significant and really a highlight of some of the activities and statutory requirements they've levied on the defense department, really, since 2005, so i watched t

i'm vago muradian. have