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Kristina Young / Handout / EPA
The USS Harry S. Truman at an undisclosed location in the Atlantic Ocean in December 2012.
Published 6:30 p.m. ET: Budget constraints are prompting the U.S. Navy to cut back the number of aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf region from two to one, the latest example of how contentious fiscal battles in Washington are impacting the U.S. military.
According to Defense Department officials, the USS Harry S. Truman, which was set to leave for the Persian Gulf region on Friday, will now remain stateside, based in Norfolk, Virginia.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered the change to the department’s “two-carrier policy” in the Persian Gulf region early Wednesday.
The U.S. has steadily kept two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf for much of the last two years. In 2010, then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued a directive to keep two in the area given the volatility of the region.
The cutback is largely a result of automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration, passed by Congress during the summer of 2011. Congress has failed to pass a budget for the fiscal year, and has instead opted on passing legislation that will keep spending at the same level as last year. But that means the Pentagon has been operating with less money and is unsure of what the future holds for its bottom line.
Under sequestration, the Navy would lose $4 billion over the next six months, the last half of fiscal year 2013. The Navy was already $4.6 billion in the hole for this year because the continuing resolution for 2013 was budgeted at 2012 rates.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta tells NBC's Chuck Todd if a sequester is allowed to happen it will "badly damage" the readiness of the U.S. military.
Navy officials say the Defense Department ordered members of their branch and all services to “prepare for sequestration,” even though it’s not yet clear the automatic budgets cuts will kick in next month.
“We cut back to one carrier in the Gulf region to save money now, or wait until sequestration and be forced to cut back to zero carriers,” a senior defense official told NBC News.
It’s not certain whether the Defense Department or the White House would permit a zero carrier presence in the Persian Gulf, no matter what the budget constraints, given rising tensions over Iran. The Truman would still conduct exercises off the US East Coast and would be “surge ready” in the event of an emergency or disaster.
A statement from Pentagon Press Secretary George Little assured that the United States will “maintain a robust presence” in the area, but cited the pending sequestration cuts as the reason the Navy sent Panetta the request.
“This prudent decision enables the U.S. Navy to maintain these ships to deploy on short notice in the event they are needed to respond to national security contingencies,” read the statement.
Revelation of the cutbacks comes the same day as news that Panetta is recommending military pay increases be limited to one percent in 2014. Uniformed military will still get a raise, but it will be much smaller “to reflect the difficult budget decisions” facing the department, a defense official told NBC News.
At a speech Wednesday, the outgoing secretary of defense warned that the budget battles in Washington are putting America at risk.
“The Department of Defense and other agencies across government have been living under a serious shadow -- the shadow of sequestration ... Today, with another trigger for sequestration approaching on March 1st, the Department of Defense is facing the most serious readiness crisis in over a decade,” he said to a crowd at Georgetown University.
“Make no mistake, if these cuts happen there will be a serious disruption in defense programs and a sharp decline in military readiness,” Panetta said in his speech Wednesday.
“We have begun an all-out effort to plan for how to operate under such a scenario, but it is already clear that no good options exist.”
On Tuesday, President Obama called on Congress to pass “a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms” to avoid the automated cuts set to kick in at the beginning of next month.
Republican Sens. John McCain and Kelly Ayotte – who have toured the country warning that sequestration cuts could put U.S. national defense at risk – responded on Wednesday by introducing a bill that would avoid cuts by slashing the federal workforce by 10 percent.
Additional reporting from Courtney Kube
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So how will keeping this carrier near US waters save us money? It will still be crewed, so no salary savings. It is nuclear powered, so no fuel savings either. Mail deliveries won't have as far to go. That might save a few cents, but I don't see any significant savings from keeping a carrier in a different part of the ocean. The only real way to save any money would be to decommission the ship. I'd rather see us decommission a few thousand desk jockey admirals and generals and their staffs. The military is WAY too brass heavy. Get rid of the REMFs first.
Hmm... no fuel savings? When you put nuclear reactor on idle, the fuel lasts a LOT longer compared to when it's full steam out at sea.
John...the cost differences between operating (and supporting) a carrier on deployment with a full crew (all assigned to the ship for operation and assigned to air squadrons) and escort ships vs. bringing it stateside and keeping it idle with only assigned shipboard crew is tremendous.
DSP - CAPT/USNR
So you are saying they are lying about redeployment to the US and instead are actually intending to mothball the carrier?
No..."redeployment to the US" is a little bit of a confusing term, but it essentially means bring it home to either San Diego or Norfolk and keep it stateside for an extended period of time.
Just sat down with my dog who is dying of old age like me but sooner. I hope. Yesterday he had to lay down on our trip around the block walk. I removed his harness and told him he could follow me home at his own pace. My God if i could only tell you more it would be heart breaking
It would seem that the white house is banning anything that offers resistance or protection for the people of the U.S.. Guns, air craft carriers next they will disarm the Marines, you know guns and all. Oh, forgot, banning money for the armed ( sorry, did not mean to say a bad word.... armed) Services who protect us. Seems our world is slowly beginning to implode, we cant possibly survive with with the people in office removing and eliminating the protection of the United States, opening the gates to those who want to eliminate the U.S. as it is today as they face zero resistance from the American people. It's sad to think the people of the U.S. do not fight for what is right for the country, as they do in other countries. People have to have the inner strength and guts to stand for something, it is easier to look the other way, as the majority has demonstrated. Good Night and Good luck!
The White House is banning guns? When did this happen? Did congress have anything to do with the sequester? Thanks for the partisan diatribe.
Slash what? Why the @!$%# should we be spending millions of dollars to park a carrier next to a country that Israel want to bomb? Let them do it and pay for it. Wast of money, time and human lives.
Good. It's time to stop playing world police and fighting useless wars.
Iran and naive liberals are happy with the news, until the left goes to the pump and pays $7 a gallon.
ban the @!$%# out of msnbc and other cocksucking media that makes life a commodity. So disenfranchised with the current filth in government and see only one avenue for the grotesque and inhuman ... i have no words.. im sorry
i just hope such cuts do not turn around and bite us in the ass
It's to late, the second term has begun.
Talk about starving the beast... forget doing a budget - just keep the Pentagon funding the same after the sequester for 10 years or so and problem solved!
Remember when we were The United States of America? Today we look more like Zimbabwe. Oh, wait! Nevermind, Zimbabwe still has $217 of their own in the bank.
What they really need to do is stop making so many weapons and junk they got sitting in hangars that are never gonna be used. Time for a good spring cleaning guys..clean out the closets and do some recycling before talking about cutting anyones benies or pay. And maybe make afew of these big wigs do with one less butler or maid.
Stay out of the middle east. Let them fight the religous war and deal with the last man standing. He is the only one who can hold the country together. We aren't gaining any friends in the middle east. We haven't won a war since WWII.
Obama said "sequester" wouldn't happen during the Romney/Obama Debates... Was he lying they or lying now"
Obama blamed GWB for rising gas prices, now says it is not the fault of the President... Was he lying they or lying now"
Obama said that under Obamacare, "if you liked your doctor, you could keep him"... Was he lying they or lying now"
Obama said he would never raise taxes on the middle class, ALL Americans saw their paycheck shrink starting in January... Was he lying they or lying now"
If Obama's lips are moving, he's lying.
Carrier are old school a sqd of B-52 can fly from anywhere in the world and bomb for hrs straight one ahab the arab until the drones come in.
LOL! Ummm....no.
we can just ask china for some money to play navy obama......... how shamefull we have spent all the military money. ........ on @!$%# projects that have produced so many jobs....... now thats cost effective.....
We still have a lot of interests in the Persian Gulf area. Its possible we may be at war soon with Iran and Syria and North Korea. I'm more worried about that nutty president from Iran doing something to show off more than anything else. The talking bowling pin from North Korea is usually all bite and no bark. I'm sure there is probably a lot more going on than what we're being told and frankly I'm not so sure I want to know about :).
What do we need carriers for anyway in the 21st century? Fly the planes off an unsinkable airfield that cost 1/10 the price and save the difference.
Pretty soon we will be under another attack in the homeland because of the idiots who want to spend money or stimulus, bailouts, obozocare, social BS, education, and whatever other BS they can think of. When you are bare to the bone and have no capability to defend yourself the radical islamic religious nuts will be coming out of the woodwork to come after you. Your great liberal college education and healthcare won't mean anything to you then. The only thing these morons understand is strength and like Jimmy Carter the current moron-in-charge will make us weak to satisfy his fat ego.,
Thank God some one has put the butt-plug in these Azzholes.
Umm...what?!
We've had two carriers in the Persian Gulf for the last two years. Why? As a deterrent to countries like Iran. Really? Deterred Iran from doing what? And the answer is NOT enriching uranium or testing missiles.
Amazing. We went into WW2 from the Great Depression and out-produced every nation on the planet.
What is it that forces our congress and our president to remain silent about our nation's industrial plant being given to China?
What is it that forces our congress and president to accept destruction of our economy and military in the name of globalism?
It's time to replace ALL of them... and the sooner, the better.
The problem is the sick way we let Generals move into the military contractor industry. In some years, the move from general staff to industry is a virtual clean sweep. Thirty-four out of 39 three- and four-star generals and admirals who retired in 2007 are now working in defense contractor roles — nearly 90 percent.
Dozens of retired generals employed by defense firms maintain Pentagon advisory roles, giving them unparalleled levels of influence and access to inside information on Department of Defense procurement plans. These Generals who become lobbyists under the guise of "advisers" are pure poison to our government. We actually "fabricate" wars to keep these stocks moving up and management bonus's being paid.
The generals are, in many cases, recruited for private sector roles well before they retire, raising questions about their independence and judgment while still in uniform. The Pentagon is aware and even supports this practice.
Just a tad conflict of interest here wouldn't you say? We can't tell where the US military and its real interests end and the interests of the profiteering military contractors begin. They are seamless.
Obama said: "The fact that we're here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. Leadership means 'The buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit." Again, was he lying then or lying now?
Wow, now the military and the U.S. Government knows what we've all been doing for years: living on less. You cannot continue the astronomical defense budget forever. As for the naysayers that think we'll get behind in military technology. Most countries are decades behind us. I'd rather see the money go to domestic concerns. If anything, are huge military budget should go to the men and women serving. It's a shame we have military personnel that actually need food stamps to support their families. Let the fat cats that spent millions to keep their tax shelters spend some more, and give it to the people in the Armed Forces. I'm sick and tired of this country treating everybody but the rich like second-rate citizens. What have all the millionaires and billionaires risked, another yacht?
Did our new Secretary of State, John F'n Kerry pay that half-million in taxes he owed MA for docking his yacht in RI? No, he hasn't... He said he would, he hasn't... Didn't stop Obama from giving a raise to federal employees in January... so you point?
Why don't we all just sit on our butts and let the wealthy people support us... they don't need all that money. Sounds good to about half this country. Everyone in the country has equal opportunity to make the big bucks but NOT equal outcomes.
If you carefully examine what everyone does for their income there are significant differences in what goes into making a larger income. This is a volunteer armed forces. If you don't like the pay... find a better job or don't join. They tell you exactly what you will make before you sign.
Most people have their personal financial situation because of the life choices they make... not because "the man" or wealthy are keeping them down. Not saying there is not a lot of corruption but tax evasion and being lazy are all over the place.
This sounds like propaganda or very crappy reporting. How are they pulling an aircraft carrier from somewhere it is not? How many are there right now? How much money are you going to really save by having an aircraft carrier “surge ready” in one place over another? Mr McCain, if you really want to balance the budget, then regulate the lobbyists and start representing your constituents.
It might be the start of some type of war propaganda.
solution is if you want to dominate the world then just blow the @!$%# out of them and be done with the theoretic.
If you want to dominate the world just threaten them with a walmart :)