Lincoln Refueling Delay?

That Naval Institute announced over the weekend that there is the possibility of a delay in the Lincolns refuel and overhaul because of sequestration cuts to DoD budget.
If this is the case then the Admirals and their staff should all be fired for doing no planning. The United States government is broke and the Dod wastes an unbelievable pile of cash you can see this in failed programs like the F-35 and the Navy LCS program. Of course most of these announcements are used  to start hysteria, because after all these programs are to big to cut. To think that no one was planning ahead is just inexcusable.

Here are some money quotes from the article.

Lincoln was scheduled to be moved to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipyard later this month to begin the 4-year refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the ship.
“This delay is due to uncertainty in the Fiscal Year 2013 appropriations bill, both in the timing and funding level available for the first full year of the contract,” the message said.
CVN-72 will remain at Norfolk Naval Base where the ships force personnel will continue to conduct routine maintenance until sufficient funding is received for the initial execution of the RCOH.”

Of course the local Congress critter is all upset because the shipyard that will do the work is in his dirstict'

Forbes called the delay, “another example of how these reckless and irresponsible defense cuts in Washington will have a long-term impact on the Navy’s ability to perform its missions. Not only will the Lincoln be delayed in returning to the Fleet, but this decision will also affect the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) defueling, the USS George Washington (CVN-73) RCOH, and future carrier readiness.”

The move by the navy is the second this week involving funding for carriers. On Wednesday it announced it would delay the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) to the Middle East do to the ongoing budget strife bringing the total number of carriers in U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to one until funding normalizes.

Reckless defense cuts my ass, it amounts to less than 3% of the projected budget each year going out ten years. But there is never any truth coming out of D.C.