Just how bad would sequestration be for the Pentagon? No one argues that the roughly $500 billion across-the-board defense cut that would be triggered if the super committee fails to agree on a plan to reduce the nation's deficit by at least $1.2 trillion equates to a worst-case scenario for the department. But the extent of the damage that could be done to the military with a cut of that size is a topic that is still up for debate/.../
The House Armed Services report “is kind of a worst case of a worst case,” said Todd Harrison, a budget analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “They’re saying if you have the worst-case budget cuts and implement them in the worst possible way, this is how bad it will be.”
“Even under sequestration, [the department] can get ahead of the curve and propose a budget that fits under the cap,” Harrison said. Officials “don’t have to cut blindly.”