Sequestration would cripple US military strategy, says Hagel

Budget cuts would impact US' traditional role as a guarantor of global security.

US military will not be able to carry out the defense strategy if sequestration, budget cuts, begins again in fiscal year 2016, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee.

A return to sequester would put at risk "America's traditional role as a guarantor of global security, and ultimately our own security," Hagel said.

Recent events in Europe reflects that there is a need for American involvement, which is evident from the President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2015 defense budget request, the Secretary of Defense highlighted.

"I believe this budget has to be far more than a set of numbers or just a list of decisions," Hagel said, adding, "It is a statement of values. It's a statement of priorities. It's a statement of our needs. It's a statement of our responsibilities."

The secretary argued that the budget request is realistic and it would help in preparing the US military to defend the nation at a time of increasing uncertainty throughout the world.

Talking about the compensation reform for troops, Hagel said the defense department is committed to providing service members fair compensation, he emphasised, "as well as the training and the tools and the edge they will always need to succeed in battle and return home safely.”

"To meet those obligations under constrained budgets, we need some modest adjustments to the growth in pay and benefits,” the secretary said. “All these savings will be reinvested in training and equipping our troops. And there are no proposals to change retirement in this budget."

According to the proposal, the defense department would continue to recommend pay increases but they would not be as substantial as in previous years. The department also plans to continue the plan for continue off-base housing subsidy, albeit not at the current rate of 100 per cent. Hagel explained that department would pay about 95 per cent and it would be phased in over the several years.

The budget request includes a provision to reduce subsidies for military commissaries. "We are not shutting down commissaries," Hagel explained. "We recommend gradually phasing out some subsidies, but only for domestic commissaries that are not in remote areas."

The secretary said the defense department recommends simplifying and modernising the three TRICARE military health plan systems by merging them into one, with modest increases in co-pays and deductibles for military retirees and family members that encourage them more fully to use the most affordable means of care. "Active duty personnel will still receive care that is entirely free," he said.