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"As the command responsible of overseeing two wars, U.S. Central Command saw huge increases in personnel and budget at its MacDill Air Force Base headquarters after 9/11. Since 2001, the command's Tampa-based contingent of military and civilian personnel jumped 70 percent by 2013, to nearly 2,730, with another 1,300 positions allocated to its subordinate commands. Funding rose to almost a billion dollars the previous year, according to a recently released report by the Government Accountability Office mandated by Congress. But with the war in Iraq over and the war in Afghanistan drawing to a close, Centcom poses a vexing challenge for the Pentagon, according to the GAO. On the one hand, it is responsible for one of the world's most dangerous regions, including Syria, Iran and Egypt and isn't about to close up shop just because one major ground war is over and the other will end in December. On the other hand, Centcom draws the bulk of its funds from money allotted for war -- called overseas contingency funds -- and the Pentagon has yet to figure out how to pay for future operations out of its base budget."