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Could the automatic spending changes have the most effect on our national defense and make us vulnerable?
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Our -- -- -- warning about the impact of the seaquest -- on our military he insists it will be catastrophic.
Major generous guest judges sexiest Greta good to see you OK explain to me how this is going to be catastrophic.
To our military site 2.4 percent that I don't get why this a big cat -- had an impact but catastrophic much.
Real quick do the numbers.
In 2012.
The DOD took a haircut of a trillion dollars it's a hundred million dollars a year for ten years.
In this sequestration.
The department offense takes 50%.
In other words DOD is 18% of the budget they take 50% of the cuts.
The problem yes particularly the army they have to take those cuts over the next eight months what that means they can't take it yeah I just can't.
So what that means -- the army loses those things that it needs most.
People and training.
He knows a thing in the army call the erosion -- And when a soldier comes back from combat.
He his skills in combat erode very quickly she have to put him back in the training business so he would maintain social skills.
If he doesn't train and you know twelve billion dollar cut in army training funds means that about 60% of the army's training budget's gone.
-- within a year that erosion for those units.
He is in fact catastrophic and if we have to go to war again in a year -- two of those soldiers won't be ready and oh by the way.
We have an army or military -- at war in Afghanistan not many people remember that.
OK so am I guess city Baghdad said.
Position that against the so what I see it behind the Pentagon's like a lot of defense contractors and haven't there's an awful lot of waste there and I realize that this is more urgent that we can't go collect that waste from the defense contractors and double billing or whatever it is -- because -- -- we have a more urgent -- that's it should it urgency more than anything else would the Pentagon as it.
Look at the great irony is that contractors are sort of or sort of buffer against this because of their contracts.
You just can't go in and say cut a program and get that money back in eight months.
If you gonna do it you have to cut people here's -- set but it's also a day off a contract to come back -- is that.
The contract with the soldiers is if I have to cut 24000 enlisted men and 7000 officers in the next eight months to year.
That's that's an easy pay back.
To the budget it's not so easy for those soldiers you -- 2342 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan maybe they're a machine Gunner -- tournament.
And now they're on the street that.
That's just -- I.
It's a much more urgent situation and and -- and I and I see it now I understand that.
-- -- but defense contractors OK I hear these horrible stories endure pain like who -- what we -- agreed to this -- -- many aces and -- billions of dollars why why isn't something done about that why aren't these contracts police to see whether we're paying twice.
Whether we really need this stuff from Mississippi it's unbelievable they must.
Here's -- you -- is we have these contracts going out for new stuff and everybody needs -- stuff.
And -- for institutions like the Marine Corps in the army.
We've got 5000 vehicles that are broken continues awards that are sitting in depots just to be repaired.
We have helicopters that are flown their blades off.
Just to bring the military back to.
Condition where there operationally ready yet forget the new stuff the contract to new stuff.
Just to bring back the old stuff.
To some condition of readiness is going to cost six to twelve million.
That's even a whole another issue women that's just a whole whole -- been there actually mean people who are not part of the part of -- Who aren't in uniform.
You know companies make and lots of money lots of money lots and lots of money and is there I mean I mean are any of these contracts ever.
-- -- They're audited but this this pace of escalation in the contracting businesses out of control no argument from me.
And -- it -- -- today competitive bidding so.
-- of them are not all -- but not at all and oh by the way once you get the got a problem is what you get the contract -- fighter plane or ship then the escalation.
Above the base -- -- two or three times as much as what you originally budgeted for.
The biggest problem in the DOD in the years ahead is going to be what we call acquisition reform.
Fix the system for -- and stuff and that's going to probably be the greatest return investment that we can make particularly if you're trying to save a little longer short term.
It's people in training.
-- -- just CSX that it.
Yeah so yeah.
