Official: Fort Hood Soldiers, families affected by budget cuts

Official: Soldiers, families affected by budget cuts
Family programs, maintenance will see reductions
March 1, 2013
By Rose L. Thayer
Killeen Daily Herald

Now that the sequester has kicked in, Fort Hood and Central Texas may not see changes immediately, but if no action is taken, there will be changes, said local and Army officials.

“Bottom line, up front, sequestration will affect soldiers, families and our civilian workforce and the community businesses around installations,” said Brig. Gen. Curt Rauhut, director of resource management for Installation Management Command, during a discussion panel Wednesday.

Sequestration — which includes $12 billion in automatic cuts to the Army over the next seven months — combined with a continuing resolution and the emerging shortfall in war funding have created “a devastating environment to operate in,” said Maj. Gen. Karen E. Dyson, director for Army Budget.

Aside from the negative impact to soldiers’ readiness and training schedules, officials also foresee reductions to family programs and an inability for installations to modernize facilities and sustain routine maintenance.

All family programs are being looked at now, Rauhut said. No decisions have been made as to what will be cut, but a reduction in hours at child development centers and other youth programs, such as sports or recreation, are on the table.
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