The changing terrain: budget cuts
Congressional hearings of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) took place this week.
During the HASC hearings, service leaders reinforced their all-too-familiar messages about the damage that automatic budget cuts, resulting in fiscal uncertainty year after year, have had on the military. The HASC heard from leaders including Army Secretary Patrick Murphy, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller and Marine Corps Assistant Commandant Gen. John Paxton. All echoed the same sentiment: budget cuts have resulted in diminished readiness levels across the services.
Drawdowns, older equipment and less training time are all culprits. Key themes throughout the hearings were the need for the drawdown to slow down and modernized equipment. Another big concern is if large numbers of troops are needed in a hurry to handle a major new crisis(es), will the country be ready with the forces, equipment and budget we have now?
Over in the Senate, testimony from the services’ vice chiefs was quite similar: the automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, and budget fighting among the political parties does no one good when it comes to planning and training. Again, the threat of a new, major crisis worries the vice chiefs: are we ready?
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