According to Rep. Turner the Army has only 42 Combat Brigades ready for action in the field in the event of war or national crisis. Pictured here: U.S. Infantry scramble toward a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq.
On November 13, 2013 Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for a few minutes regarding cuts in Defense spending under sequestration.
“During recent testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, the various service chiefs have made numerous statements outlining the devastating effects. Of note, the Army has been forced to cancel all combat training center rotations for those brigade combat teams not slated to deploy to Afghanistan or to be part of the global response force. That means that we only have two out of 42 combat Army brigades fully trained and ready to deploy in a crisis.”
See related article: Army chief- Just 2 brigades combat ready http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/23/army-chief-just-2-brigades-combat-ready/
“The Navy has canceled multiple ship deployments as a result of the devastating budget cuts, including the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group that was scheduled to deploy to the Middle East earlier this year. Due to the cuts in training and maintenance, we have had to reduce deterrent presence in order to retain the ability to surge our ships if needed in a crisis”, he said.
See related video: Navy Announces Delay of Harry S. Truman Strike Group http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvMHx2vE88k
“Important modernization efforts are also taking a hit as a result of sequestration. Air Force leaders have told Congress that “modernization forecasts are bleak.” These modernization efforts are critical as many of the assets in our current inventory are decades old. It is imperative that we find spending cuts to offset sequestration on the Department of Defense. Our military leaders have come to Congress on numerous occasions to explain the limitations the budget cuts are putting on our national security”, he added.
“It is legislative malpractice for this Congress to continue to put our Nation at greater risk. The President needs to come to this Congress with a proposal to offset sequestration in a responsible manner so the Department of Defense can be restored, our national security protected, and the community of Dayton, Ohio, no longer suffers the effects of sequestration”, said Rep. Turner (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).