Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Pentagon's role in responding to the attack last year on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the ambassador and three other Americans were killed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta adjusts his papers as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Pentagon's role in responding to the attack last year on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the ambassador and three other Americans were killed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Pentagon's role in responding to the attack last year on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the ambassador and three other Americans were killed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Pentagon's role in responding to the attack last year on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the ambassador and three other Americans were killed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Looming across-the-board budget cuts present the U.S. military with the most significant readiness crisis in more than a decade and quick action is needed to avoid the spending reductions, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned during testimony Thursday before the Senate Armed Services …
