Gen. Amos: ‘Dust hasn’t settled’ on sequester’s threat to Pacific pivot

“It’s yet to be seen how much of the Asia-Pacific strategy,
which is really where the focus is, how much is going to be affordable when all
the dust settles,” Amos said at a forum Thursday hosted by the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

{mosads}At the forum, Amos and Chief of Naval Operations Adm.
Jonathan Greenert both discussed the future of the Navy and Marine Corps living
in a world of uncertainty surrounding the budget.

Greenert said things have not yet reached the point where
the military cannot carry out its rebalancing to the Pacific.

He said one of the Navy’s biggest losses due to
sequestration is its inability to “surge” when needed because ships are not
receiving proper maintenance as operations funds are cut.

Both military leaders warned about the cuts halting new research
and modernization programs that are needed to tune-up or replace a growing number
of aging vehicles.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sent a letter to Congress on
Wednesday outlining the impact of sequestration on the military in 2014, when
the Pentagon’s budget would be cut by $52 billion.

He touched on many of the same issues as Amos and Greenert: where the military would suffer severe losses in training and the number of
planes, ships and vehicles it could buy.

The Pentagon is still finishing up its strategic review that
is expected to take a more detailed look at the budget situation and resulting military
strategy in the coming years, whether sequestration remains.