June 18, 2025
By: Matt Craig, Director of Crane Community Support for Radius Indiana Government spending is under the microscope, and there is no doubt the federal government is going through an evolution, the likes of which we haven’t seen in modern history. News on budget cuts and staffing changes are now commonplace in headlines across the nation and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Yet, the outcome may be a net boost for the area workforce and economy. For most of us the changes may not directly impact our day-to-day lives, but with the third largest naval installation employing 6,500 people in our back yard, we cannot escape the conversation. In the past few weeks, a federal mandate to reduce government workforce of nearly 900,000 resulted in voluntary separation of more than 150 personnel at Crane. In addition, a hiring freeze is now in place. This is not the first time we’ve seen this headline at Crane or within the DoD. In fact, hiring freezes and early retirements are very routine for the federal government when spending cuts are mandated. These tactics have the least negative impact on current employees, and adjustments likely will be made both to the workloads of the remaining workers and subcontracting. DoD workers went through similar exercises in the 1990s because of the end of the Cold War and again around 2013 with the decline of fighting in the Global War on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the longer-term headline for Crane is different—the missions at Crane are largely aligned with the current administration and Department of Defense top priorities. With the call for an 8% spending reduction across the DoD, there are 17 areas that have been identified as “protected” in the next few fiscal years --conservatively, over 70% of Crane’s workload maps to one of protected areas. Those areas could even see increases in funding from budget savings in other areas, which vary across different budget models but are anticipated to be $50 - $70 billion for the DoD’s budget in the 2026 fiscal year. Crane’s two largest commands, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division and Crane Army Ammunition Activity, both provide critical capabilities that are needed on that list of priorities. Their respective expertise will be an important fixture in the DoD’s new landscape. From the list of 17 priorities Crane’s mission work is directly related to at least nine areas, some of which include Homeland Missile Defense, munitions, energetics, nuclear modernization, unmanned aerial systems and technology for Virginia-class submarines. In theory, Crane could find itself next year with more work and fewer workers. Historically this has often triggered positive changes in the number of subcontracting opportunities for the private defense sector companies who support the DoD. Crane will likely investigate new methods of reallocating some of its mission workload to the many growing industry partners that surround the base. Those industry partners are making their own headlines in and around the base including at WestGate@Crane Technology Park, home to more than 60 defense-related companies. New global companies, like Prometheus Energetics, NHanced Semiconductors, Kratos, Amentum, Reliable MicroSystems and CACI are setting up shop at WestGate and will bring millions in investment and hundreds of new, high-skilled jobs to the area. These new investments are a testament to the optimism felt toward Crane and the entire defense industry here in Indiana Uplands. While none of us can predict exactly how government changes and global events will shape our country in the coming months and years, we can be confident in the tremendous importance of Crane and its impact on our region. Our focus should remain on the big picture impacts of the Defense work in our region as well as providing compassionate assistance to our colleagues who are being impacted by this evolution.