Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in a visit to the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, discussed the challenges facing the Defense Department.

One of the biggest hurdles in the coming months is sequestration, the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts set to take effect in January.

“I think we only get through it because of perseverance,” he said.

Dempsey also addressed ongoing challenges of dealing with a smaller budget.

“The question we will answer with your help is how much smaller will that budget become and still allow us to preserve the resources necessary to live up to the responsibility we have … to prevent the United States of America from being coerced in any domain. We are a global power,” Dempsey said.

Also, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) discussed the challenges of sequestration in a keynote address at a Brookings Institution event.

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