Five Defense Department officials have asked Senate lawmakers to pass a budget to help mitigate the impact of sequestration budget cuts and lack of stable funds on DoD’s industrial infrastructure and military readiness, DoD News reported Thursday.
Jim Garamone writes the officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s readiness and management support subpanel Wednesday that lack of funds and continuing resolution have resulted in maintenance backlogs across service branches.
“The longer the Army operates under the budget caps in an unpredictable fiscal environment, the more difficult it is to sustain production and retain a skilled workforce,†said Lt. Gen. Larry Wyche, deputy commander of Army Materiel Command.
Other concerns the officials raised at the Senate subcommittee hearing include backlogs in shipyard maintenance, aging aircraft fleet and shortage in skilled workforce.
Other DoD officials who testified at the Senate hearing include Lt. Gen. Lee Levy, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command’s air force sustainment center, Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags, commander of the Naval Air Systems Command; Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Dana, deputy commandant for installations and logistics; and Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command.
