Essay On Sequestration

Over the past five years, The United States Armed Forces has been suffering from budget cuts, which has greatly affected the Navy’s capabilities (Kreisher). This so called sequestration is the reason that the Navy is no longer able to provide the services it normally would. For example, in its prime state, the U.S. Navy provides a vast amount of services to all Americans including: protection from outside threats, secure trade routes, and scholarships to those that wish to join the service. In order to effectively accomplish all of its services, it is crucial that the Navy receives proper funding by both the government and through civilian help. One major service that the U.S. Navy provides is security throughout the nation. The United States of America is surrounded by water on both its east …show more content…
About 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water; this makes water the most effective way to transport goods. With the Navy decommissioning old ships and sequestration not allowing the Navy to make many more new ships, there is more area to cover per ship. This leaves the Navy ships spreads a bit too thin, which will surely lead to an increase in the amount of pirate attacks or overall unsafe waters. The current budget, with the sequestered amounts, shows the Navy having to put half of its cruisers out of service until money is available to modernize them. Furthermore, newer ships, such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) have been built but due to the current state the Navy is unable to produce more of them (Jean). The importance of naval power is often undermined as politics ramble on about other issues; this is a grave mistake that cannot be overlooked. With the vast majority of the World’s trade going on via ocean, it is crucial that the trade routes are protected; however, with fewer ships it will be harder to accomplish this