Maryland to fare well in Obama's 'leaner' defense strategy
While President Barack Obama described plans Thursday to make the U.S. military "leaner," officials in Maryland said the focus of installations and defense contractors here on intelligence, cyberwarfare, research and development is likely to protect the state from the deep cuts feared elsewhere.
The defense strategy the president unveiled calls for bolstering the U.S. military presence in the Asian-Pacific region and increasing investment in NATO and other partnerships as the United States pulls troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army and Marine Corps are due to begin shrinking in 2015.
"None of that really impacts Maryland in a particular way," said retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. L. Michael Hayes, director of the state office of military and federal affairs. "The positive for Maryland is the continued emphasis on intelligence, cybersecurity, all those things that are kind of central to what we do.
"Like everybody, we will be part of feeling some of the pain, but much less so than others."
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