 Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visits with forward-deployed sailors during an all-hands call at Fleet Activity, Shikoshka. Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifice, thank you for what you do for America every single day. This is the best expeditionary fighting force the world has ever known. Mabus talks about military budget cuts and how they apply to the Pacific region. From what I took from that was that he's working his hardest to protect the families. However, it does look like they're going to be pulling budget money from the ships and from maintenance availabilities. Mabus ensures service members that these cuts will not result in pay cuts or loss of benefits. We need to make sure that we are able to make any cuts that are necessary but make them in a smart way. Petty Officer Michael Storey, Yikoshka Naval Base, Japan.