Pentagon's Dire Budget Warnings Fall on Deaf Ears

Military.com ^ | 1 Aug 13 | Brendan McGarry

[SkyPilot]

Relatively few lawmakers turned out today to hear Pentagon officials warn that ongoing budget cuts would bring widespread changes to the military and limit its strategic goals.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee to discuss the potential impacts, which were detailed in an assessment released yesterday known in military parlance as the Strategic Choices and Management Review, or SCMR (pronounced "skimmer").

In the worst-case scenario, the Pentagon may have to cut 142,000 more active-duty soldiers and Marines, three carrier strike groups and a number of fighter and bomber squadrons -- or "many" modernization programs, according to Winnefeld, whose testimony echoed comments made yesterday by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

"We're sort of trapped in this strategic no man's land," Winnefeld said, referring to the view that long-term cuts would prevent leaders from enforcing parts of the current military strategy.

[SkyPilot]

The Pentagon considered options under three budget scenarios with varying levels of cuts: $150 billion over 10 years, as included in President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget request; $250 billion over a decade; or the full sequester amount of $500 billion over the same period. The review concluded that the military could still fulfill "required" missions while reducing the active-duty Army to as few as 420,000 soldiers, down from the current plan of 490,000 soldiers by 2018, and the Army reserves to as few as 490,000 soldiers, down from 555,000, according to Winnefeld's testimony. The Air Force could retire as many as five squadrons and reduce the size of the C-130 fleet "with minimal risk," it states.

If Congress and the White House can't reach a deal to avert $500 billion in decade-long reductions to the defense budget under a process called sequestration, the active Army would be forced to thin its ranks to as few as 380,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps to as few as 150,000 Marines, down from the current plan of 182,000. The number of carrier strike groups may fall to eight, down from 11, and an unspecified number of fighter and bomber squadrons would be retired, as well.

While that would still leave more ground troops than before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the impact to the force structure would be "significant," Winnefeld said.

Carter described the findings as "sobering."

Same, shameful story as from last fall and winter.

The military is being systematically destroyed, and Congress and the American people could care less.

The entire Sequestration issue will not go away because both parties are terrified to reform Entitlements, which are breaking the back of this nation and sapping our national will.

The NY Times reported yesterday that Obama did not even want the Pentagon to outline the true nature of the disaster, for fear that Congress might try to soften the blows at the expense of Obama's giveaway programs (I am not joking).

Meanwhile, military warriors are not getting the care they need. DoD nurses, teachers, engineers, and maintainers have had their pay cut by 20% due to furloughs. Obama would not permit their furloughs to be consecutive because he knew it would add to the unemployment numbers - so these employees cannot even collect that insurance (which they paid into) to offset the cuts and help pay their own bills.

Thousands upon thousands of jobs in the defense industry are already gone and there are hundreds of thousands more to come.

Massive cuts are coming to carriers, aircraft, and troop strength, on top of what has already been slashed for the first year of Sequestration.

Military healthcare (TRICARE) is going to be broken with an iron rod, and premiums will probably quadruple. Military retirees and veterans who served this country are going to be robbed of their healthcare and retirements.

Shame on this nation. Shame on Obama. Shame on our do nothing Congress.

[Venturer]

Any young man who joins the military today has to be nuts.

Just get yourself a job son, sooner or later we will all be fighting. Either to save America or to stop an invasion that our military is not capable of doing.

Why get yourself killed by silly ROE , not enough troops , not enough equipment, a bad leadership, and a homo or woman standing next to you.

Why spend you life in endless tours of duty in Godless countries because there is no one to relieve you.

Stay out of it.

[Diogenesis]

The question is why?

Many Americans who used to care, no longer do.

The Pentagon is treasonously HELPING al Qaeda
which directly attacked the Pentagon and murdered Americans.
As bad, it is going along with having its troops KIA by
Hasan and the Taliban (beloved by the DNC and Obama).

[Orangedog]

The military is being systematically destroyed, and Congress and the American people could care less.

Destroyed how, with the trivial amount of reductions in the rate of spending growth called the "sequester"? This is nothing. Wait until the reality of the math asserts itself and it becomes obvious that even a 50% across the board cut in spending won't be enough. I mean real cuts, not the fake ones those clowns in DC and their stenographers in the press piss and moan about. Don't count an this or any other congress or white house to fix this. They can't. It's math. This will end and it will end badly. You think the military is being destroyed now? Now would be the time to start planning an orderly pull back to an actual role of defending the country instead of serving as the world's police. A lot of people won't like it, but it's a hell of a lot better than having to do it all at once and having real concerns of just getting our people home, let along the equipment.

[from occupied ga]

Shame on this nation. Shame on Obama. Shame on our do nothing Congress.

Everty line itme in the budget has a constituency. It is my understanding that most of the military cuts come from the projected budget increases. The shameful part isn't cutting the military budget, but expanding the freebies for the lazy parasites at the same time.

[laplata]

If there is a Draft, I will give aid and comfort to anyone who evades the Draft for the very reasons you mention and because the US Military is now a tool to implement the New World Order, not defend the United States.

[GeronL]

How about they reduce the bureaucracy first?

How about they curtail some of these eco-nut projects the government forced on them?

How about they end this homosexual liasion (Political Officers) office on every base?

Probably a lot of things that could be cut but they, as always, want to make it hurt.

[Timber Rattler]

Stuff like this is why no one is taking the military warnings seriously...

Report: U.S. Wasted $34 Million on 'White Elephant' Afghan HQ

[GeronL]

lol.

We are becoming a 3rd world country. And it is being done on purpose.

I heard a joke that Venezuela has more Admirals than ships. I am starting to think it wasn’t a joke.

[Makana]

Fire one general for every 1,000 troops cut.

[Soul of the South]

“The question is why?
Many Americans who used to care, no longer do.”

The end of the draft is one reason. When we had a peacetime draft many served in the military. Today very few do. Americans feel no personal connection to the military protecting the country.

Another reason is Americans are no longer well educated and well read. Instead of reading long, well researched, objective, and in depth stories in newspapers their understanding of the world is fully shaped by soundbites from the left wing press, to the extent they receive news at all. In that media’s world the average American is more likely to be harmed by a crazy white cracker with a gun like Zimmerman than by any foreign threat.

A segment of the population, with significant political power, wants to emasculate the military and is actively working to do so. Most Americans are unaware of this agenda.

Other Americans believe we have the most powerful military in the world and don’t believe Congress would allow it to wither away.

Ultimately we have an uninformed and disengaged electorate.

[GeronL]

It is not the end of the draft.

Being a government slave so we can all appreciate the bounty that master gives us for our whole life is not the way to go.

[Dr. Pritchett]

/sarc

Hey, enough with the logic already. We need to get on with the overturning of DADT, overturning of DOMA, federal benefits for same sex partners, and integration of females into combat units... NO MATTER WHAT THE COST!! This military has important priorities!!

/sarc

[B4Ranch]

We have a Commander in Chief who says, “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”(From Audacity of Hope), I hope you will not join him. When we have fighter aircraft that cost $435 MILLION EACH, something is wrong in the Pentagon. I will not support such wasteful spending of the American tax dollar.

Can you explain the value to the American citizens of the recent and past deaths and injuries American fighting troops have suffered in the Middle East. Exactly what has been accomplished other than expanding the budgets of the military industrial complex. We have wasted trillions of dollars in that sandbox and haven’t accomplished a friggin thing!