Proposed Pentagon Cuts

As the Secretary of Defense announced it $78 billion in cuts to the defense budget, Colorado Springs, Colo., is beginning to analyze the impact it will have on the city.

With five military installations in the Colorado Springs area, talk of budget cuts causes many reactions. The Air Force Academy, Petersen Air Force Base, Fort Carson Army Base, Schriever Air Force Base and Norad are located in the Springs metroplex. The financial impact of thousands of soldiers living in and around the city is huge. Many businesses depend on the military contribution to keep their businesses financially stable.

According to CNN.com, under the Gates plan, the Marine Corps would slash 15,000 to 20,000 people, a 10 percent reduction. The Army would shrink by 27,000 active duty personnel, a 4 percent cut on top of an already planned reduction of 22,000 -- for a total of 49,000 fewer soldiers.

The Defense Department had instructed the individual branches of the military to identify $100 billion in cuts over the next five years, with Gates' pledge that they could keep the savings they identified instead of it being returned to the larger Defense Department pool or the U.S. Treasury. The budget plan brings the Pentagon in line with President Barack Obama's request to reduce projected spending on the military by $78 billion over the next five years.

When the previous military budget cuts went into effect in 2001, (Washington Post)Fort Carson Army Base and Colorado Springs were beneficiaries of the move because soldiers from closed facilities came to Colorado Springs. The boom during that time almost overwhelmed the city. Unable to grow at the rapid pace the soldiers were coming, it nearly crippled the city's roads and housing market.

However, the city has adapted and has grown to accommodate the overload. It has also become dependent on the money that is brought in by all of those families. Every business is affected in some way by the presence of the military. According to Global Security.org, with over 15,000 military personnel at Fort Carson alone and over 35,000 total military in the area, Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security and other smaller towns in this area, depend on the money that comes from the five installations.

With the reduction in just the Army totaling about 49,000, Fort Carson will more than likely see mass reductions in its personnel. This is going to have an effect on the city. We are not sure how deep the cuts will be for the Air Force facilities yet. Another factor in Colorado Springs is the military contracts that employ thousands of engineers, designers and other civilian employees. Northrup Gruman, ITT, Lockheed Martin and CAV International are companies that handle military contracts in the Colorado Springs area.

Many military projects are going to be scrapped and the likelihood of job cuts is probably not avoidable. With millions of dollars being pumped into the economy of Colorado Springs by the thousands of military located here, budget cuts are going to be painful.

With planning, Colorado Springs may be able to recover more quickly. However, it is painfully obvious that with so many soldiers being cut, the city will undoubtedly feel the lack of money coming into the city for a long time. Housing, retail, and many other kinds of business will be affected.