This week in DoD sequestration news
Other than some pundits and politicians discussing whether the outcomes of the mid-term elections would result in any changes to sequestration, there was not much specific news on the topic this week. So I’ll take this opportunity to focus on one branch of the service: the Marine Corps.
Planned cuts in the Marine Corps are expected to shrink active-duty troop levels to 174,000 by 2017, down from a war-time high of 202,000. That means almost one in nine Marines will be gone in the next few years.
In addition to the possibility of being involuntary separated, 83 percent of Marine Corps families expect to be financially affected by coming cuts to defense spending, according to a recent First Command Financial Behaviors Index® (FBI) survey. Thirty-seven percent of these reported feeling extremely or very affected. Along with the planned nine percent decrease in corpsmen between now and 2017, other reasons associated with these feelings are likely related to cuts from the Staff Sergeant Retention Board and the thousands of staff NCOs offered voluntary separation or early retirement in the spring of this year.
FBI survey results showed that Marine Corps families’ top financial concerns are a reduction in annual pay increases (45 percent) and an increased responsibility for healthcare costs (40 percent). Nearly nine-in-ten military families indicated they are taking one or more actions as a result of proposed DoD budget cuts. The actions Marine Corps families are taking include: cutting back on everyday spending (45 percent), paying down debt (38 percent) and increasing the amount they are saving (36 percent).
For those looking ahead to life after the military, whether voluntary or involuntary, members of the Marine Corps and their spouses describe that they are actively looking forward to their next careers. The vast majority of Marine Corps families (80 percent) are considering a post-military career, and most of them are taking some type of action to prepare, including: completing education (54 percent), networking (52 percent) and researching career opportunities (37 percent).
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