Panetta: Military Could Face Devastating Cuts

A congressional “supercommittee” failed in its task of cutting the deficit Monday, worrying Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta.

“If Congress fails to act over the next year, the Department of Defense will face devastating, automatic, across-the-board cuts that will tear a seam in the nation's defense,” he said in a statement released Monday afternoon.

The committee’s failure can affect the military in various ways, Stars and Stripes reported.

Cuts would "jeopardize our ability to provide our troops and their families with the benefits and the support they have been promised. Our troops deserve better, and our nation demands better," he said.