Despite proposed budget cuts by the U.S. Department of Defense to the National Guard, it does not appear the agency’s Readiness Center at Bradford Regional Airport in Lafayette Township will be immediately impacted.

“The budget plan that was announced has no direct effect on the Bradford Readiness Center,” said Staff Sgt. Matt Jones, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, on Wednesday afternoon.

Jones added that other military cuts could trickle down, forcing the Readiness Center “to make decisions on manning and training.”

He noted that, “As long as sequestration remains in effect, that does tighten our overall budget.” This limits training at the center.

Pennsylvania as a whole is not safe from the cuts proposed by the Department of Defense.

According to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., the National Guard is slated to lose Apache helicopters assigned in Pennsylvania to Active component of the military.

Casey announced Tuesday that he, along with a bipartisan group of senators, spoke out against the proposed cuts in a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Charles T. Hagel. Casey has also talked to Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox “to emphasize the importance that the National Guard has across Pennsylvania and the critical need to maintain a robust role for the National Guard in the nation’s defenses,” a press release from Casey stated.

The senator maintained the importance of the National Guard.

“The women and men of Pennsylvania’s National Guard have made incredible sacrifices on behalf of our nation and contributed to keeping our country safe,” Casey said. “As we draw down in Afghanistan and consider the future shape of our armed forces it’s important that the National Guard continue to play a significant role in our national defense. The Guard has proven over and over again that its force if efficient and effective.”

In the letter to Hagel, senators said the proposed budget “creates unnecessary risk to our national security at the expense of incredibly capable attack aviation assets in the Army National Guard.” They recommend the department work with the Army and National Guard to develop a effective solution.