WASHINGTON – The nation's top military officer is warning Congress that a decade of war has stressed the military and funding will be needed to reset the force.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the military will need Congress' sustained support, even in these critical financial times. He was speaking Wednesday before the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, making his final appearance on Capitol Hill before retiring.
Obama has proposed slashing $400 billion in defense over the next 12 years to help bring the nation's crippling deficit under control. Lawmakers are pushing for deeper cuts, including demands for a more rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan, a war that is costing as much as $10 billion a month.
Gates has urged careful, strategy-based cuts.
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