About Robert D. Holzer

Robert D. Holzer is a Senior National Security Manager with Gryphon Technologies TeamBlue National Securities Program and former director of outreach for the Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation.


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Opinion: Sequestration is Here

Opinion: Sequestration is Here

 USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) pulls out of Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. on June, 4 2013. US Navy Photo

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) pulls out of Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. on June, 4 2013. US Navy Photo

The dirty word spreading across the U.S. Navy and the larger defense establishment this year is “sequestration.” It was never supposed to happen, yet today it is the law of the land. Worse still, there appears to be no interest in Congress to repeal this legislation. That’s significant, since the longer this process goes on, the greater will be the cumulative damage on the long-term health and readiness of the U.S. Navy, as well as all of America’s military.

Sequestration was born out of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which stipulated that more than $900 billion in defense cuts over 10 years would begin automatically in 2013 unless Congress passed a long-term deficit reduction plan. This provision was considered so draconian that all agreed at the time that it would never be implemented. Think again. Read More