U.S. Pacific Fleet formally notified several Navy commands March that the Secretary of Defense approved cancellations of their upcoming deployments.
The April deployments of the San Diego-based USS Rentz (FFG 46) and USS Jefferson City (SSN 759) have been cancelled due to budget limitations imposed by sequestration. Further, the San Diego-based USS Thach (FFG 43) will cut short her current deployment to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility and return home in April.
Each respective chain of command has begun to notify the affected Sailors of these cancellations. As the Secretary of the Navy stated in a message March 1, the Navy has been preparing to cancel some deployments in the month of April.
While the final decision to cancel these deployments was deferred until the last possible moment, these commands had been previously directed to prepare for cancellation.
The Secretary of Defense has directed, and U.S. Pacific Fleet is ensuring, that constrained resources are being prioritized to support forces operating forward, and to those being trained to relieve them.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, March 25, 2013; Image: US Navy