Arnold Punaro: Sequestration Likely to Result in Greater Defense Consolidation

Arnold Punaro expects the defense industry to see greater consolidation as a result of sequestration cuts to the Pentagon budget, he told the Washington Post in a story published Monday.

Marjorie Censer writes Punaro, the newly-appointed chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association‘s board of directors, also told the newspaper in an interview that the sector prepared for downturns well ahead of the government.

Punaro predicted the fiscal uncertainty may prompt some contractors to leave the defense market, he said to the Post.

“The notion that sequester has not been harmful to national defense is just balderdash,” he added, according to the report.

As the NDIA’s board chairman, Punaro aims for the trade group to help other stakeholders understand the challenges facing the industry, Censer reports.

“I would like to see us focus more of the compensation on the people who are serving today and make major reforms in the long-term compensation of the people that are no longer serving,” he told the Post.