Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday delayed the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East because of budget uncertainty, hours after warning that congressional inaction on financial matters threatened US security. Furthermore, the Pentagon also announced it would seek a smaller-than-expected one percent pay increase for service members during the 2014 fiscal year that begins in October, another sign of fiscal pressures on the military after nearly a decade of growth.
The outgoing Pentagon chief delayed the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and the USS Gettysburg guided-missile cruiser because of uncertainty over the department’s finances, Pentagon spokesman George Little said. The two ships had been scheduled to leave their home ports in the US, bound for the Middle East later this week, officials said. “Facing budget uncertainty, the US Navy made this request to the secretary and he approved,” Little said in a statement. “This prudent decision enables the US Navy to maintain these ships to deploy on short notice in the event they are needed to respond to national security contingencies.”
The decision leaves the United States with one aircraft carrier in the tense Gulf region, the same force level it has had since December. Little said the US presence was “robust,” with a mix of ships and warplanes that could respond to any contingencies.
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