The Department of Defense is being forced to find about $450 billion to cut over the next decade.

That's whether the so-called super committee can come up with a plan to trim the federal budget by Thanksgiving or not.

"It's going to make things more difficult, there's no way around that. It's just one of the challenges right now because we know they have to downsize, at the same time I'm saying all this, it's something is going to happen," said Carl McLaughlin, executive director of the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization.

Just what will happen is still unclear.

But Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says nothing can be safe from the budget ax.

He has said finding the necessary savings might mean closing bases and cutting from the spending categories that until now were considered un-touchable - medical and retirement benefits.

Military Retiree Nicola Luciani says a lot of people depend on those benefits and cutting there should only be a last resort.

"That's something that was promised. And everybody that's serving is serving for that reason," said Luciani.

North country Congressman and member of the House Armed Services Committee Bill Owens says he's hopeful it won't come to that.

"I believe that we can in fact protect the people who have served us, protect the people who are serving us, do right by them if you will, but at the same time we can work better and more efficiently," said Owens (D. - 23rd District).

Owens says better management of defense money will account for a lot of the necessary savings.

And if base closures are unavoidable, the ones overseas should be the first to go.

Panetta seems to agree - on that point, at least.