Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Visits El Paso

Fort Bliss soldiers and their families got a rare opportunity Thursday afternoon: the chance to ask the head of the U.S. Department of Defense anything they wanted.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta addressed a about 500 soldiers of the 1st Armored Division and family members at Fort Bliss in a “town hall”-style meeting.

It was Panetta’s first visit to Fort Bliss since he took office last summer.

Panetta first addressed the crowd inside a hangar. He spoke about the financial challenges that lie ahead in light of $489 billion budget cuts Congress has ordered his department to make over the next ten years.

“This is an opportunity,” said Panetta. “It’s an opportunity, as tough as it is, to fashion a defense system for our country for the future.”

Fort Bliss is already tightening its belt. 192 civilians will be out of a job by September 2012. During a question and answer period, some soldiers asked if their benefits would suffer.

“We have made it very clear that we will make no reforms to those who are serving now,” said Panetta.

However, Panetta said compensation and retirement benefits may be reduced for anyone who chooses to enlist in the future. “But we must do it fairly and in a way that does not break faith,” said Panetta.

Panetta did not reveal specifics on how his department will cope with the cuts. Instead he spoke about his strategy in general, which includes finding ways to cut costs within the Pentagon and developing a more flexible, fast-moving force even as it shrinks in size by investing in technology.

“There are risks associated with any strategy, but my goal is to make it clear to the world that the United States is still the strongest military in the world and that we have a force that can respond to any threat,” said Panetta.

However, Panetta said his strategy “will go out the window” if Congress follows through with a pending decision to cut $500 billion additional dollars from his budget.

“(That formula) would basically cut 20% across the board. It’s nuts,” said Panetta.

Panetta attended a meeting of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce Thursday evening. He will be back on post Friday morning to meet with a four star general to speak about homeland security.