A top admiral told lawmakers on Thursday that the Navy's long-term budget plan for ships will fall short of requirements set by commanders.

Beginning in fiscal 2013, the Navy's long-term budget framework has its fleet topping out at roughly 300 ships by 2020. The problem is the Navy needs at least 500 warships to meet the base requirements of military commanders around the world.

That minimum number of ships and submarines is what Vice Admiral William Burke told members of the House Armed Services readiness subpanel the Navy needed to support combat operations worldwide.

The top U.S. commander suggested there could be a sizable pause in withdrawals after troop levels are reduced this summer.

As the Pentagon gets smaller, the U.S. military is going to need more help from its friends around the world. 

New legislation introduced Thursday by Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) is geared toward expanding that circle of friends, particularly in Eastern Europe. 

The NATO Enhancement Act of 2012 would lay the groundwork for Bosnia, Georgia, Macedonia and Montenegro to join NATO. 

Though some conservatives said they would have cut further than the GOP plan, they wanted to avoid the automatic cuts.

Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Thursday afternoon offered detailed and aggressive prescription for how the United States can ensure its security in the new century, and warned that the nation faces “dark days ahead” if it does not prepare for several emerging security threats.

“For the sake of our nation, and of all nations who seek freedom for their citizens, we must be prepared to fight on the 21st Century Battlefield, and we can settle for no less than victory upon it,” he said on the House floor (prepared text here).

With Pentagon budgets shrinking, many major U.S. defense firms are looking to foreign markets to support their bottom lines.

Now, a special House defense panel is pushing the Pentagon to give smaller defense companies the same opportunity.

The California Democrat has spoken out on military hazing since the death of her nephew, Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, last year.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are calling on President Obama to stop plans for additional troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. 

In an op-ed in The Washington Post on Thursday, the trio of senators write that additional troop reductions are "shortsighted" and "guarantee failure." 

Instead, the senators write there should be a "pause" in troop drawdowns starting in September, leaving at least 68,000 troops there. 

The Pentagon’s request for two new rounds of BRAC in 2013 and 2015 has met stiff opposition in Congress.