Sequestration Might Lead To Cancellation Of 21 Appearances By The Team

The U.S. Navy has sent a document to Congress expressing concerns about the Blue Angels' schedule should there be another round of sequestration in the 2020 budget.

Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said in the document that a "mechanical sequestration" of the U.S. Defense Budget could lead to the cancellation of 21 appearances by the Navy's precision demonstration team, based on the 2019 schedule.

Defense News reports that all of the services have been told to craft budgets that take the possibility of sequestration in 2020 into account, as well as normal budget for that year. The Navy would not comment specifically on what might be cut in such a sequestration budget, according to the report.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said that sequestration could have a negative impact on readiness as well as forcing the cancellation of Blue Angels appearances. "It would cause us to look at our force structure, have to make ourselves a smaller force," he said.

Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Defense News that if history is any guide, Congress will wait until the last moment and then pass another continuing resolution that funds programs at their previous levels. “It will be close, it will look like we won’t get a deal; and then, at the last moment, Congress will make a deal,” Harrison said.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report