Gates announces major job cuts as Pentagon looks to cut spending

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday dozens of
cuts to senior military and contractor positions and the elimination of a major
military command.

The moves are part of an effort to streamline Pentagon
spending. Gates is trying to find $100 billion in Defense savings over the next
five years in order to instill a “culture of savings and restraint” in the
military.

{mosads}“It is important that we not repeat the mistakes of the
past, where tough economic times or the winding down of a military campaign
leads to steep and unwise reductions in defense,” Gates said in a statement.

“As a matter of principle and political reality, the
Department of Defense cannot expect America’s elected representatives to
approve budget increases each year unless we are doing a good job, indeed
everything possible, to make every dollar count.”

While the cuts wouldn’t reduce the overall military budget,
they would help eliminate excess spending and allow funds to be used for needed
resources, the Pentagon said.

Gates said he has ordered a 10 percent cut to spending on
intelligence advisory contractors, the elimination of 50 general and admiral
positions, the reduction of senior civilian positions by 150 and the closure of
the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. About 2,800 military personnel and
3,000 civilians work at that command, which has focused on transforming the
military’s capabilities.

Rep. Glenn Nye (D-Va.), who represents the district impacted by the closing, said the proposal from Gates was “short-sighted and without merit.”

“I appreciate the department’s attempt to rein in spending, but I have yet to see any substantive analysis to support the assertion that closing JFCOM will yield large savings,” Nye said in a statement. 

Nye faces a difficult re-election challenge this year.

President Obama said the cuts are important both to national
security and to his administration’s effort to make government more open and
responsive.

“The funds saved will help us sustain the current force
structure and make needed investments in modernization in a fiscally
responsible way,” Obama said in a statement.

Gates’s latest steps to overhaul the Pentagon budget come as
Congress and the administration are trying to grapple with the $13 trillion debt and
deficits expected to average nearly $1 trillion over the next decade.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has said Defense
spending should be scrutinized along with the rest of the federal budget,
praised Gates’s announcement.

“He took a hard look at the Defense Department’s budget and
made tough decisions to cut expenses and freeze spending,” she said in a
statement.

“He ensured that his fiscal proposals would give our service
members everything they need to succeed in combat. In a critical step, the secretary
announced we would reduce our reliance on private contractors — putting
critical functions of national security where they belong: in the hands of
sworn and highly-trained military and intelligence officials.”