Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Complete and utter bullshit...


A quick look at most defense blogs and business pages shows that the US military is in a virtual panic about Sequester and the Continuing Resolution.

For the defense industry I say...I feel your pain guys.  You deserve every ounce of sympathy and best wishes.

For the Pentagon.  I say fuck you, you should have planned and this is what happens when you become part of a dysfunctional political operation.

I'll use one news outlet as an example.  Lets try AOL Defense.  Check this out.
The Air Force will have to cut flying hours by 18 percent, furlough 180,000 employees for 22 days and risk "catastrophic impact to people & readiness if sequestration occurs," according to a congressional briefing prepared by the service.
.......
 "The word 'sequestration' doesn't even appear in this piece," said one Congressional staffer. "If anyone is talking Army issues right now, they are talking about the CR [continuing resolution]/Sequestration and what it means for the Army today, next year, and ten years from now."
.......
 AOL Defense has obtained Army documents detailing the impacts of sequestration, the continuing resolution, and shortfalls in overseas contingency operations (OCO) funding -- a total $18 billion blow for the service.
.......
 All told, the Army will lose 90 percent of the "Operations & Maintenance, Army" (OMA) funds remaining for fiscal year 2013. As a result, one bullet point declares," Army mortgages future readiness in FY13, and enters FY14 hollow" in a host of areas.
.......
 In a telling sign of the uncertain economic and spending climate in the defense world – faced with sequestration and the possibility of a year-long Continuing Resolution -- at least three defense conferences have been cancelled in the last two months and defense companies continue to pare their participation in even the biggest shows, the air show in Paris and Farnborough.
.......
 The Army will have money to fully train only a fraction of its total force: The 82nd Airborne's Global Response Force paratrooper brigade, units in Korea, and troops headed for Afghanistan. Everyone else will cancel everything more elaborate than "squad-level training."
Remember.  This is just AOL's coverage from the last 3 days.

Military leadership should have managed this situation.  As it stands they have bowed to their political masters in the White House instead of making a strong stand for the protection of the nation.

Additionally they've hung out to dry our defense sector.

They can complain all they want about how defense companies behave, but after seeing this I can't blame a single one of them for taking steps necessary to protect their bottom lines.

The unintended consequences of this whole fiasco have yet to be seen but you can bet it'll be unpleasant for all.

This is going to be heartbreaking to watch...but watch I will.
NOTE: This is what happens when the Service Chiefs basically abandon their support in the nation.  I've read more about sequestration and the results of it today than I really cared to and when looking across the military blogging world all I can detect is MILD concern.  No one is coming out saying that this is a danger.  No one is ringing the alarm bells.  Everyone seems to be saying 'meh' at the same time.  I say good.  Let the Service Chiefs stew. They brought this pain to the military by being ""yes"" men and they can reap the benefits of being lazy little politicians instead of warriors.

1 comment :

  1. IIRC, the Continuing Resolution basically ties the hands of the Pentagon. In essence, Sequestration says they have to cut, and the Continuing Resolution says they can't make major changes or cuts without going through Congress.

    And why blame the White House? Congress is the dysfunctional organization that came up with this mess and can't agree on anything.

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