 Faced with a congressionally mandated reduction of expenditures in FY 1969, Clifford suspended the planned activation of an infantry division and deactivated 50 small ships, 9 naval air squadrons, and 23 Nike-Hercules missile launch sites.By the time Clifford became secretary, Defense Department work on the fiscal year 1969 budget was complete.It amounted in total obligational authority to $77.7 billion, almost $3 billion more than in FY 1968.