WASHINGTON – Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke on the dire condition of military readiness at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday in Simi Valley, CA. Selected excerpts from Sec. Hagel’s speech below spotlight specific and serious vulnerabilities to American national security caused by significant defense cuts made since 2011.
Building on themes discussed at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Rep. Rob Wittman will be speaking at a Foreign Policy Initiative meeting this week on "The Impact of Defense Cuts on Military Readiness" Thursday, November 21 from 12:30 - 1:30 PM in 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Along with other distinguished guests, Chairman Wittman will brief Congressional staff on the readiness challenges the military faces today.
Secretary Hagel:
Read the full remarks
“…While our people today are strong and resilient after 12 years of war, they are under tremendous stress from years of repeated deployments, and so are the institutions that support them, train them, and equip them. As you all know, the department is currently facing sequester-level cuts on the order of $500 billion over the next 10 years. This is in addition – in addition – to the 10-year $487 billion reduction in DoD's budget that is already underway. That means we are looking at nearly $1 trillion in DoD cuts over this 10-year period, unless there is a new budget agreement.
“Consider that since sequestration began, just a couple of examples.
• The Navy's average global presence is now down more than 10 percent, with particularly sharp reductions in regions like South America.
• The Army has had to cancel final training rotations for seven brigade combat teams. That's more than 15 percent of the entire force, and it now has just two of the 43 active-duty brigade combat teams fully ready and available to execute a major combat operation.
• Air Force units lost 25 percent of the annual training events that keep them qualified for their assigned missions, and
• Marine Corps units not going to Afghanistan are getting 30 percent less funding just as the service is facing more demands for more embassy security and more Marines around the world.
“These are all current readiness realities, and they have all occurred since the imposition of sequestration in March. But the effects will be felt for a long period of time to come. By continuing to cancel training for non-deploying personnel, we will create a backlog of training requirements that could take years to recover from. And inevitably, we are shrinking the size of the force that is ready and available to meet new contingencies or respond to crises across the globe.
…
“That is not the military that our men and women signed up to be part of. They signed up to be a part of a team that trains, deploys and protects their country. We need to give them the opportunities and the resources they require to successfully accomplish the mission. We must not revisit the mistakes of the 1970s.”
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Nov 18, 2013
Defense Drumbeat
113th Congress