Marjorie Censer and Peter Whoriskey have a pessimistic piece in today's Washington Post on what shrinking defense spending will do to the D.C. regional economy, including Maryland and Northern Virginia. (Well, it's pessimistic for the regional economy. It's probably positive for the national deficit, wasted taxpayer money and possibly for world peace.)

Several in the industry said the downturn could be as severe as it was in the early 1990s, when, among other things, the Navy largely pulled out of Crystal City.

"We're seeing the start of another down cycle," said Randy Jayne, managing partner for executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles's aerospace, defense and aviation practice.