The San Diego Military Advisory Council said Friday that President Obama’s nominee to succeed Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary is “well qualified” and welcomed his position on sequestration.
“Ashton Carter’s background and prior experience in the Pentagon certainly appear to make him well qualified for the position of Secretary of Defense,” said Larry Blumberg, executive director.
“With more than 20 percent of San Diego’s regional economy dependent on defense spending, SDMAC is particularly pleased to see that he has taken a strong position that Congress must act to end sequestration.”
Sequestration is the term for the automatic, across-the-board cuts to the defense budget that were approved when Congress could not pass a federal budget.
Carter, a physicist by training, has served under 11 defense secretaries and was No. 2 at the Pentagon under former secretaries Hagel and Leon Panetta.
SDMAC is a nonprofit created in 2004 with a mission to support and promote the military and defense industry in San Diego.