Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard chiefs weigh in on budget
Leaders agree tough times for military lie ahead
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Posted: 02/01/2013
Last Updated:
113 days ago
SAN DIEGO -
In a rare joint appearance, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp said, in no uncertain terms, there are rough budgetary waters ahead.
"If sequestration happens you're going to feel it in San Diego," said Amos.
Sequestration will cause $500 billion in additional cuts to the armed services.
"The ships and crews already prepared to deploy won't be affected, but it may mean we won't be able to train future crews and ships to deploy," Greenert said.
The San Diego Military Advisory Committee predicts civilian defense workers will be hit the hardest, with between 4,000 and 5,000 jobs lost.
Of the workers who remain, Greenert said, "There will be furloughs, roughly 22 days out of every six months."
The budget for the Coast Guard does not come from defense, but it too will see reductions.
As for the plan forward, there will a battalion from Camp Pendleton in the rotation to be forward deployed in Japan as the sea services work on a re-balance of forces to the Asia-Pacific area.
Amos said he will mortgage everything to ensure war fighters in Afghanistan have what they need, but he added, "That mortgage will have to be paid in shortage in home station readiness, equipment going into depots and equipment we're not buying."
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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