The United States of America has been involved in many different conflicts, foreign and domestic, popular and unpopular, spanning four centuries and in all corners of the globe. From the warm coastal waters of the American homeland to the atolls of the Pacific, from the winding inland rivers of Vietnam to the choke point of the Strait of Hormuz, American sailors have valiantly stood up to defend America's interests at home and abroad. 'stranger. The Navy has had to continually update its ships and technologies in order to keep up with the rapidly changing times and ensure it not only remains competitive, but also outperforms foreign competition. No other period in history has seen technological evolution as rapid as that experienced by our troops today, and equipping our soldiers with the best possible equipment and the most up-to-date training must remain a top priority. As sequestration and budget cuts shave $487 billion from the Department of the Navy's budget over the next 10 years, it's more evident than ever how detrimental these budget cuts can be to today's sailors and tomorrow. Significant reductions in the naval budget will jeopardize the readiness of our ships and sailors, harm our ability to maintain strategic assets ready for deployment to critical areas, and limit our ability to acquire new and improved technologies . Sequestration is a relatively new challenge for the Navy. The United States Government and the Department of the Navy in particular; the seeds were sown a little over five years ago during the Great Recession. Following the recession, the Tea Party, a more deficit-conscious fiscal conservative wing of the Republican Party, was formed. This new group then swept middle of paper......with overwhelming evidence on the table, it would be hard to ignore the enormous negative impact the budget cuts will have on the Navy. By reducing flight times, eliminating training deemed non-essential, and decreasing the number of deployments, our Sailors are losing valuable experience that they would not gain elsewhere. Due to the lack of maintenance of our ships, the Navy is also experiencing a decline in readiness. By reducing the number of forward-deployed ships, we also increase our response time to potential threats to our allies and other interests abroad. Finally, as we fail or delay modernizing our Navy for financial reasons, we are preventing ourselves from achieving the most combat-ready force we could be. As the U.S. economy rebuilds to its former glory, an increase in military spending is likely to soon follow..