This is coming from Obama’s own Defense Secretary
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday that the cuts in defense proposed by President Barack Obaama will create “risks” in America’s “capability to respond” to threats.
“The risks come with the fact that, you know, we will have a smaller force,” Panetta said a t a Pentagon briefing. “As we said, it’s larger than we had prior to 9/11, but obviously it will be a smaller force, and when you have [a] smaller force there are risks associated with that in terms of our capability to respond.”
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed Panetta’s assessment, while pointing out that when the admnistration’s cuts in defense are implemented there will be risk that the U.S. military will not be able to do as much as quickly as it can do now
The force structure shifts I’ve outlined today entail some risk to be sure, but to manage that risk we will ensure that we can mobilize, surge, and adapt our force to meet the requirements of an uncertain future,” Panetta said.
“To that end, the Army will retain more mid-level, mid-grade officers, and NCOs [non-commissioned officers]–these are the guys who have the experience–and they will maintain them even as their overall strength decreases to ensure that we have the structure and experienced leaders necessary to re-grow the force quickly if we have to,” he said
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