Wherever Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel goes these days, the Huffington Post notes one topic keeps coming up: sequestration.

“Hagel went to Fort Bragg, N.C., on Monday for a town hall conversation with troops and their families, veterans and civilian personnel. Three of the five questions were about sequestration, while another touched on budgetary matters and led to a further discussion of how the Defense Department was adapting to the fiscal situation.”

Said Hagel: “There’s a dark cloud that hangs over this institution.”