emptystep
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- Jul 17, 2012
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Defense Secretary Holds News Conference | C-SPAN
(there is a brief piece of the previous program at the beginning)
Another Briefing I saw on C-SPAN. This one really hit a cord however. Hearing the strain in Panette's voice is something I have not heard since stationed in Germany in 1991. That was another time military was being gutted. The pain in a commander's voice when his unit is being by forces almost as bad as any combat mission. This was another time when the president and congress decided to play politics with the men and women of the armed forces.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey
Analyst: Under sequestration, furloughs for virtually all DoD civilians | Federal Times | federaltimes.com
We would be completely unable to response to any threat short of continental invasion. That fact is a green light for any country opposed the the United States and can not be overemphasized. As I am putting together in another thread there are missions which we must engage in for national security and are in our national interest.
I blame both houses of congress and all parties of congress. I also blame the president for I feel his policies have become shortsighted, irresponsible, and reckless. I just hope that Hagel is not going to be the person assigned to hollow out the military.
(I tried to find a video of the simple act that the military performs every day before work. They assemble, account for every member of the unit and raise the flag. I found videos for Iwo Jima, WTC, Sandy Hook, other organizations, and other countries. This the most appropriate I could find. Perhaps one morning the members of congress should assemble outside, be accounted for, salute the raising of the flag, then they can go inside and do their job.)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DUtO_pyx2c]Flag Raising in Afghanistan - YouTube[/ame]
(there is a brief piece of the previous program at the beginning)
Another Briefing I saw on C-SPAN. This one really hit a cord however. Hearing the strain in Panette's voice is something I have not heard since stationed in Germany in 1991. That was another time military was being gutted. The pain in a commander's voice when his unit is being by forces almost as bad as any combat mission. This was another time when the president and congress decided to play politics with the men and women of the armed forces.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
The most immediate threat to our ability to achieve our mission is fiscal uncertainty.
This department is doing its part to help confront this nations deficient problem. We have implemented in our budget plan the $487 billion in spending reductions that we were asked to do by the congress over the next decade.
Units deploying to Afganistan would be protected but those not deploying would face some very serious cut backs.
Hollow out the defense force of this nation.
Regardless of what congress does or fails to do we still have an obligation to protect this country.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey
Sequestration is a self inflicted wound on national security. It is an irresponsible way to manage our nation's defense. It cuts blindly and it cuts bluntly. It compounds risk and it compromises readiness. In fact readiness is now what is in jeopardy. We're on the brink of creating a hollow force.
We won't short change those in combat and we will continue to resource those next to deploy as the secretary said. It would be unconscionable to do otherwise. Likewise we will continue to care for our wounded warriors and their families. But for the rest of the force operations, maintenance, and training will be gutted.
Within months we will be less prepared. Within a year we will be unprepared. The crisis can, and must, be avoided.
Analyst: Under sequestration, furloughs for virtually all DoD civilians | Federal Times | federaltimes.com
The Pentagon would need to furlough virtually all of its nearly 800,000 civilian employees for one month between March and September if mandatory federal spending cuts go into effect in March, according to a prominent defense budget analyst.
...
You only have seven months remaining in the fiscal year to administer that cut, he said. By March 1, DoD will already have spent five months worth of the money in those accounts.
That means DoD would have to reduce payroll expenses for the rest of the year by 15 percent, Harrison said.
If youre going to reduce your payroll expenses by 15 percent for the remainder of the year and youre going to do it through furloughs, that means you have to furlough virtually every single DoD civilian for the maximum amount of time you can under the law, which is one month, he said.
We would be completely unable to response to any threat short of continental invasion. That fact is a green light for any country opposed the the United States and can not be overemphasized. As I am putting together in another thread there are missions which we must engage in for national security and are in our national interest.
I blame both houses of congress and all parties of congress. I also blame the president for I feel his policies have become shortsighted, irresponsible, and reckless. I just hope that Hagel is not going to be the person assigned to hollow out the military.
(I tried to find a video of the simple act that the military performs every day before work. They assemble, account for every member of the unit and raise the flag. I found videos for Iwo Jima, WTC, Sandy Hook, other organizations, and other countries. This the most appropriate I could find. Perhaps one morning the members of congress should assemble outside, be accounted for, salute the raising of the flag, then they can go inside and do their job.)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DUtO_pyx2c]Flag Raising in Afghanistan - YouTube[/ame]