The Impacts of Sequestration on the U.S. Military

As the U.S. government’s budget sequestration continues to unfold, concerns remain about the policy’s impact on the U.S. military.  Many question sequestration’s effect on military training, recruitment, equipment maintenance, and overall readiness.

On November 8, the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at Brookings hosted an event featuring two panels to explore these issues.  The first panel looked at how available resources are changing the operating and training environments. Brookings current Federal Executive Fellows discussed how sequestration is impacting their respective military branches.  The second panel featured Jay DeFrank of Pratt & Whitney and Jack Mayer of Booz Allen Hamilton, who engaged in a broader discussion about defense strategy and budgeting in the era of sequestration.  Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and director of research for Foreign Policy at Brookings, moderated the discussions.