U.S. Army says it faces huge equipment, training risks with budget cuts

[neverforget]

U.S. Army says it faces huge equipment, training risks with budget cuts

(Reuters) - The U.S. Army warned on Monday that mandatory budget cuts due to resume in fiscal 2016 would be devastating to a service that is already facing huge risks as it tries to keep forces ready for battle, replace aging equipment and respond to crises around the world.

"We have to have a national security debate ... because there is too much going on," U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno told reporters at the annual Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) conference.

Odierno said the Army had agreed to further reduce the size of its active force to 450,000 troops from an earlier goal of 490,000 to comply with mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration, but he questioned if even the original target would allow the Army to respond as needed around the globe.

"The problem is that since we made those statements, the world is changing in front of us," Odierno said, citing Russian aggression in eastern Europe, growing threats from Islamic State militants and challenges in other areas.

I'm SHOCKED! that the military is saying it's facing a budget shortfall. A beast this big has a voracious appetite and will consume everything if given the chance. And by "everything", I mean the rest of the budget that helps Americans such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, college loans, etc....

Republicans are just chomping at the bit to get us into a ground war in Iraq and Syria and using that as the excuse for austerity for everything but the military.

[logosoco]

1. They should put poor people in charge of the budget.

Poor people know how to make money stretch. And they don't like wasting it.

Also, didn't we just hear about all the things they were giving away to local police departments? How did they do that and then turn around and say they don't have enough money? Maybe they need to go get that stuff back!

[City Lights]

2. Awww, poor things.

Like the rest of us, they'll have to learn to do more with less.

[rug]

3. The military is just scraping by on 500 billion dollars a year.

http://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2015/fy2015_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf

[neverforget]

6. Sickening isn't it?

Paying to police the world is expensive

[rug]

9. A complete waste.

[drray23]

4. what the heck

They already use up 57 % of the discretionary spending.
By comparison science uses 3 %. What more do they want ? Do they think the sole reason for the united states to exist is to fund the army ?

[Sherman A1]

5. Perhaps

they could recall some of the equipment that has been forwarded to local police departments.

[GummyBearz]

7. ridiculous bureaucrats

Blame the damn bureaucrats in the military brass (and the contractors like Halliburton).

I come from a military family (didn't serve myself). Dad has stories from Vietnam in which they were told if they didn't use all their ammo after a patrol, to just shoot at a hill before coming back in order to use it all up (ie. increase the budget for bullets).

Cousin was in afghanistan and he was an officer in charge of random administrative type duties at a forward base. He said it would have been cheaper per can of cola for him to fly back to europe, buy a case of cola, and fly back to afghanistan than what the navy was paying to ship in cargo planes of cola.

Just makes me go

[grahamhgreen]

8. end the wars, cut the budgets.