U.S. Defense Chiefs Talk About Impending Defense Budget Cuts

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sept. 22, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Panetta: Supercommittee Failure Would ‘Hollow Out’ Military's Combat Force -- The Hill

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed Thursday that he will not preside over deep Pentagon budget cuts that "hollow out" the military's combat power.

If the special congressional deficit panel fails to agree on $1.2 trillion in federal spending cuts by Thanksgiving, the Pentagon and other security agencies would face around $600 billion in automatic cuts. Officials say the Defense Department would take about half that cut, on top of the bulk of another $350 billion funding reduction over a decade mandated in the August debt deal.

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More News On Impending U.S. Defense Budget Cuts

Panetta: Defense Cuts Will Be Made Strategically -- US Department of Defense
Panetta, Mullen Draw Budget Line In Sand -- Aviation Week
Panetta Says Defense Budget Cuts Must Avoid ‘A Hollow Force’ -- Bloomberg
Added U.S. Defense Cuts May Cause ‘Serious Damage,’ Panetta Says -- Bloomberg
Panetta urges lawmakers to protect Defense spending -- Government Executive

US military can't be 'billpayer' for debt: Mullen -- AFP
Mullen: Cuts Could Hurt Industrial Base -- Defense News
Mullen: forced budget discipline means Pentagon must cut wisely -- Stars and Stripes
Debt is Biggest Threat to National Security, Chairman Says -- US Department of Defense
Automatic Budget Cuts Could Break U.S. Defense, Mullen Says -- Bloomberg
Mullen: Personnel, Health Costs ‘Not Sustainable’ -- US Department of Defense

DOD: More budget cuts would devastate military -- My San Antonio
OMB warns of weapons cutback -- Politico