It's the military's warning shot across the bow.  Hawaii's military leaders stood front and center Wednesday and warned lawmakers that federal budget cuts will ripple throughout the community.

"It's more realistic to see sequestration as rolling down a long, steep and bumpy hill," said Rear Adm. Denny Weatherald.

The Navy says across-the-board budget cuts won't be pretty for the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

"The net effect of sequestration will have a negative impact in the Asia/Indo-Pacific at a critical time," said Weatherald.

No one at Wednesday's hearing on military affairs minced words on the local impact.

"On a per-capita basis, Hawaii is expected to be the most severely impacted by cuts in defense spending," said Charles Ota from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

About 18,000 civilian employees are being put on furlough or could lose their jobs starting April 25.  The Army says to expect overall soldier spending to decrease.

"All of this basically means that U.S. Pacific is slowing down," said Maj. Gen. Roger Matthews of the U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter.

Training and operation will be affected with the Navy cutting spending by $110 million.

The Air Force is cutting spending by $103 million.