JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is laying out a grim list of spending cuts the Pentagon will have to make in a matter of weeks.
Panetta says the cuts will seriously damage the country's economy and degrade the military's ability to respond to a crisis.
Florida National Guard officials says there is the potential of 80,000 military jobs lost.
Florida's National Guard would not walk away untouched.
"We are already experiencing some pullbacks some reduction in our travel. Reduction in some training," said Major General Emmett Titshaw.
Major General Titshaw tells Action News if the sequestration takes place as scheduled on March 1, it could rock the Florida National Guard to its core.
"For Florida we are a huge defense state. We rank about number six in all states for the amount of economic impact from the department of defense so it's gonna be significant impact to the state of Florida," Major General Titshaw said.
He says they've already experienced $487 billion in cuts. The sequestration would tack on another half a trillion dollars across all Department of Defense accounts. Layoffs would have to follow.
"We have almost 800,000 civilians that work across the nation in the Department of Defense and there is some reason to believe some of that work force could be impacted."
But Major General Titshaw says no matter what happens, the Florida national guards number one priority will not change.
"Maintaining our combat effectiveness, taking care of our families, taking care of our wounded warriors and we'll mitigate risks across all our accounts to try and get the most bang for the buck."
Action News is told the Florida National Guard has already taken some preliminary steps to start reducing some of its costs and spending.
