Authors: Christine Hsu
Mate 2nd Class Eric S. Logsdon(WASHINGTON) -- Days after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told ABC News the sequester will make America less safe, the nation’s most elite troops – the men and women tracking and taking out terrorist threats abroad – said they too will fall victim to the political mess in Washington.
A spokesperson for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the umbrella organization for the special operations commands of each service branch as well as the shadowy, Osama bin Laden-killing Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), told ABC News on Friday the command expects the mandatory budget cuts to hit them in six ways. Though sequester went into effect Friday, the USSOCOM spokesperson did not say exactly when the specific effects of the cuts he listed would come into play for the command.
The Sequester Will Force USSOCOM to . . .
-Reduce training and flight operations
-Defer some maintenance on aircraft, boats, vehicles and facilities
-Eliminate or reduce some contracts
-Reduce planned facilities projects
-Delay replacement of materiel used in training and operations
-If the Defense Department directs furloughing of civilians, SOCOM will too
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