WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon’s top weapons buyer on Thursday authorized Defense Department purchasers and program managers to begin talking to industry partners about plans for implementing $46 billion in budget cuts on March 1 and what impact it may have on business.

The directions from Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, were the first time Pentagon contracting and acquisitions personnel have been authorized to consult with their industry counterparts about the upcoming spending cuts, known as sequestration.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta formally notified Congress on Wednesday that the Pentagon plans to put civilian defense employees on unpaid leave this year if $46 billion in across-the-board budget cuts take effect on March 1.

The announcement of congressional notification begins a 45-day process that could ultimately lead to unpaid leave for most of the department’s 800,000 civilian employees across the United States.

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. Air Force Space
Command cautioned recently that if new budget cuts take effect,
some of its round-the-clock missile-warning operations would
begin working bankers’ hours – raising concerns about detecting
missiles targeting America.

But when questioned about these dire predictions by a
concerned lawmaker last week, General Mark Welsh, the Air Force
chief of staff, explained that flexibility in the system would
let Space Command focus the cuts that take effect on March 1 on
redundant, backup radar systems.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon is expected to notify Congress this week that it plans to put some 800,000 civilian employees on unpaid leave for up to 22 days in the coming months if a new $46 billion budget cut goes into effect on March 1, a defense official said on Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said congressional notification could come as early as Wednesday. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters in late January that congressional notification of the furloughs would come “in the next few weeks.”

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – On his last trip abroad as
U.S. defense secretary, Leon Panetta was asked what he thought
of “Zero Dark Thirty,” the movie about the intense manhunt and
daring raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

“You know what,” chuckled Panetta, who as CIA director
oversaw the raid two years ago. “I lived it. It’s a great movie,
but I lived it.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon will have to put hundreds of thousands of civilian workers on unpaid leave, slash ship and aircraft maintenance and curtail training if $46 billion in scheduled spending cuts take effect in two weeks, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Tuesday.

Carter, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged Congress to delay the automatic across-the-board cuts known as sequestration, saying: “These devastating events are no longer distant problems. The wolf is at the door.”

MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – The top U.S. military officer said on Sunday he favored the idea of arming Syrian rebels during discussions within the Obama administration about how to help resolve the country’s civil war, but there was never a specific plan under review.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he thought arming the rebels might help end the crisis more quickly and avert the collapse of government institutions, which could lead Syria to become a failed state.

KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford, expected to oversee the withdrawal of most foreign troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year, took control of the NATO-led mission on Sunday, in an elaborate ceremony which emphasised the country’s sovereignty.

Dunford takes over from U.S. Marine General John Allen, who ended a 19-month tour which was arguably one of the most difficult periods in the war, now in its eleventh year.

KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford took control of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan on Sunday, in an elaborate ceremony for the commander who is expected to oversee the withdrawal of most foreign troops by the end of next year.

Dunford takes over from U.S. Marine General John Allen, who ended a 19-month tour which was arguably one of the most difficult periods in the war, now in its eleventh year.

RAMSTEIN AIR FORCE BASE, Germany (Reuters) – The Pentagon will have to cut the size of U.S. military forces for the second time in as many years if across-the-board spending reductions of $470 billion over 10 years take effect March 1, the top U.S. military officer said on Saturday.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said about a third of the cuts would have to come from forces, with the remaining two-thirds taken from spending on modernization, compensation and readiness.