Sailors and their families have grown accustomed to Washington, D.C., showdowns. But this latest one may be the gravest, as the shuttered American government lurches closer to a possible default on its national debt – now about 12 hours away. A default imperils the government’s ability to pay its bills, including military pay and veterans’ benefits. Economists believe it will throw the world economy into a crisis, as the U.S. is the world’s largest economy and holds the largest debt. And long term it would likely diminish the military’s size and power, as the nation would no longer be able…
Browsing: sequestration
It took late-night TV legend David Letterman about 50 seconds to do what loads of PowerPoint presentations, deployment-schedule shifts and turn-down-that-thermostat directives couldn’t: Solve the Navy’s budget mess. The fix involves overweight comedian Louie Anderson in a wet suit. Which doesn’t come up in any of those Navy PowerPoints. Not even in the footnotes. The “Late Show” weapons initiative has to be seen to be appreciated; click this link for video or skip to the 1:05 mark in the clip below. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_eZgbfweK0&t=65[/youtube] Letterman’s no stranger to military strategy at its highest levels. And he’s good with the enlisted side, too,…
Play beach volleyball while wearing dog tags, duh! As Naval Air Forces tries to figure out exactly what happens when it stands down four air wings and cuts two more to minimum safe flying levels, Maverick and Goose know how they’ll keep busy, as this meme that’s been floating around shows. That’s one of the perks when CWVs 2, 9, 17 and 7 get dismantled, and CVWs 1 and 11 are cut to the bone because of the sequester. One bone to pick: Maverick would never say that they would be “playin’ beach volleyball with the guys,” because clearly during…
First, head here for all the latest sequestration news as it pertains to sailors and their families, and head here for a roundup of some programs, bases and units throughout the military already feeling the pain of the cuts that could go into effect — on paper, at least — as early as midnight tonight. If you’d like a historical perspective on the cuts as they pertain to the Navy, get it fast — Naval History and Heritage Command plans to close its archives, even to research requests, if the sequestration goes forward, the Navy announced Wednesday. The move will…
Congress is taking a vacation next week — on the eve of what’s been called the biggest potential fiscal disaster to hit the nation in decades, when massive, across-the-board budget cuts begin wreaking havoc on the Pentagon and all other federal agencies. Talk about whistling past the graveyard. The sequestration ax adds big drama to this particular hiatus. But it’s hardly unusual for House and Senate lawmakers; the congressional work schedule has withered on the vine for years. At this writing, there have been 32 regular “workdays” so far this year — Monday through Friday, federal holidays excluded. The House…
