White House directs Pentagon to prepare for 'cliff'

The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum to the Department of Defense directing it to begin preparation to make $500 billion in cuts to the Defense budget:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2012 - The Defense Department has received guidance from the Office of Management and Budget and is now planning for sequestration, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

Speaking during a press availability, Little stressed the department still hopes Congress will be able to avoid sequestration that would take effect Jan. 2, 2013.

'We are consulting with the Office of Management and Budget and have been instructed to pursue internal planning on sequestration,' Little said. 'We are at the very start. We don't have all of the details firmed up. Naturally, we hope very much that sequestration will be avoided. We don't want to go off the fiscal cliff.'

The president issued a directive ensuring that uniformed personnel pay and benefits will be excluded from any cuts. The AP believes the cuts would look something like this:

According to guidance sent out by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Pentagon will have to slice nearly 10 percent off more than 80 accounts, including more than $4 billion off Air Force aircraft and maintenance, $2.1 billion off Navy shipbuilding; $6.7 billion off Army operations, $3.2 billion off health programs and $1.3 billion out of the Afghan security forces funding.

About $55 billion of the $500 billion in cuts would come in the first year.

Perhaps the Pentagon planners should begin announcing cancelled procurement contracts to various programs (in certain deeply red congressional districts) one day at a time.