Politico reports, “If Congress does not avert sequestration or pass a budget this year… “We are on the brink of creating a hollow force due to an unprecedented convergence of budget conditions,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and other military leaders said in a letter to SASC...
SASC is expected to hold its Hagel confirmation hearing late this month or early next, said an official close to the process. COUNTING VOTES Politico writes, "Chuck Hagel’s battle lines are clear: To bolster his prospects of being confirmed to run the Pentagon, he must reassure a key handful of...
AP’s Robert Burns, “Suicides in the U.S. military surged to a record 349 last year. … The Pentagon has struggled to deal with the suicides, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and others have called an epidemic. The problem reflects severe strains on military personnel burdened with more than a decade...
The Defense secretary, responding to a reporter who asked him what he thought of the film, said: “You know what? I lived it.”
Facing the prospect of a government shutdown over the debt-ceiling and spending disputes, Rep. Duncan Hunter is preparing legislation to ensure that U.S. troops and military support personnel serving in combat zones continue to be paid.
NJ writes, "House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-VA, announced Wednesday the House will consider legislation next week, sponsored by Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-FL, that would overturn Obama’s Dec. 27 executive order giving small raises — about 0.5% — to people who work for the federal government, including in Congress. (As...