by Charles Hoskinson and Austin Wright

OBAMA’S REQUEST FOR WAR FUNDING is expected to drop from $145.9 billion in 2009 to about $96.7 billion in 2013. About half of that savings will help finance a major six-year, 50 percent increase in transportation spending, POLITICO’s David Rogers reports. His story is here: http://politi.co/yi98jn

OVERALL, THE PRESIDENT’S REQUEST would produce a $901 billion deficit in 2013, after four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits, while at the same time adding a multibillion-dollar new initiative for community colleges as well as transportation, and $770 million in aid to promote democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. http://politi.co/zL1QUv

BOOMERANG ARGUMENT – It won’t take long before GOP opponents of DOD cuts throw this one back in the administration’s face: “The time for austerity is not today,” White House chief of staff Jack Lew told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host David Gregory on Sunday when pressed on the nearly $1 trillion in stimulus spending in the budget. http://politi.co/zOKROT

The video of Lew’s remarks is here: http://on.msnbc.com/xgDsTc

DOD’S PORTION OF THE REQUEST will be online by 11:15 a.m. at http://www.budget.mil. Hale and Lt. Gen. Larry Spencer will brief on the Pentagon’s budget at 2 p.m., with service-specific briefings following for the Army at 3:15 p.m., the Navy/Marine Corps at 4 p.m. and the Air Force at 4:45 p.m.

BUDGET TIDBITS – Bloomberg reports today that more than 40 percent of reductions in fiscal 2013 will come from weapons systems, which only consume a fifth of the budget. http://buswk.co/xr591H

REUTERS MEANWHILE reports that spending on acquisitions will be set at $178.8 billion, a 7.5 percent drop from initial projections. The military will maintain high spending levels for aircraft and ships, both seen as crucial as the U.S. shifts focus to the Pacific, but ground vehicle programs will take a major hit. The story is here: http://reut.rs/z4X37X

A LITTLE-NOTICED POTENTIAL VICTIM of the budget axe: schools for dependents on military bases, which face the possibility of closure, staff cuts and larger class sizes. USA Today has the story here: http://usat.ly/wz6JPb

DEMPSEY IS BACKING THE ARMY on the issue of whether to arm Medevac helicopters in Afghanistan. In a response to lawmakers who pressed Panetta for a review of current policies, the CJSC wrote that “current policies pertaining to MEDEVAC aircraft provide the joint force with the widest possible flexibility and depth of coverage across the entire spectrum of operations.” His letter is here: http://1.usa.gov/zZH2qZ

MCRAVEN MEANWHILE is pushing for an expanded role for special operations forces in Asia, Africa and Latin America. USSOCOM, which is expected to see its funding grow even as other areas of the military are cut, is seeking greater autonomy to position forces throughout the world – a plan that has been opposed in the past by regional commanders and the State Department. The New York Times has the story here: http://nyti.ms/xDyr5P

THE U.S. IS RELYING ON A RUSSIAN ICEBREAKERS to deliver supplies to McMurdo Station, a research base in Antarctica. Meanwhile, the only operational U.S. icebreaker, the USCGC Healy, has been busy escorting a Russian tanker through the icy Bering Sea. Stars and Stripes has the story: http://1.usa.gov/AkDTcH

Go to POLITICO Morning Defense Now >> http://www.politico.com/morningdefense