insideWashington
Navy faces cuts from the sequestration axe
W
ith sequestration a reality, the Navy has set plans in motion to make immediate reductions in spending, according to an announcement by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on March 2. Newly installed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that Defense Department civilian employees will “particularly” feel the pain of the sequester. “Last night, because no budget deal had been reached,” said Secretary Mabus, “The Budget Control Act required setting in motion the automatic, government-wide cuts known as sequestration. Given that reality and associated impact of budgetary uncertainty imposed by an indefinite continuing resolution, the Department of the Navy intends to commence some reductions immediately.”
It was clear from the reductions announced by Secretary Mabus that shipyards that build and repair Navy vessels would feel the pinch. The Navy has already deferred maintenance on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), repairs to the attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) and Aegis destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78); delayed the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64). Sequestration will also mean that the Navy won’t be undertaking some humanitarian missions, cut certain ship deployments, standing down some air wings and curtail its recruitment efforts and slash its advertising. Even the Blue Angels won’t be putting on their air shows.
Among the actions be insufficient after the being taken by the sequestration reducNavy is to cancel or tion is applied. The defer the deployment major programs affectof up to six ships to ed will be the Virginia various areas of operClass SSN Advance ation throughout Procurement, reactor the month of April; power units and the lay up four Combat Navy Secretary Joint High Speed VesLogistics Force units ray mabus sel (JHSV 10).” in PACOM starting Mabus said that the in April; won’t deploy the USS Navy was taking these actions Shoup (DDG 86) as an escort to “preserve support for those for USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in forces stationed overseas and CENTCOM; and return the currently forward-deployed. USS Thach (FFG 43) to home- Reductions in lower-priority port early from deployment to forward operations, and sigSOUTHCOM. nificant reductions in all other The Navy will also be pull- operations, training and maining the plug on some projects. tenance are the results of this Mabus said that the Navy will selection process. We made the begin “negotiating contract choices carefully, while trymodifications to de-obligate ing to preserve our ability to efforts for any investment pro- reverse or quickly restore neggrams for which the remain- ative effects if and when funding unobligated balance will ing is restored.”
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