Plan would cut 100K soldiers from Army

[Fay Dickson-- AKA doofs]

The Army would be slashed by more than 100,000 soldiers to a force of 420,000 by 2019 under budget plans set to be unveiled next month.

It is a level far below what Army leaders have said they would need to ensure they can fight one major war. The military is downsizing because of fiscal pressure and the winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Army now has 528,000 soldiers and had been scheduled to drop to 490,000 troops by 2019. The 420,000 level reflects Pentagon planning based on automatic budget cuts that will cut about $500 billion from the military over the decade unless Congress restores the funding.

This fall, Army chief of staff Gen. Raymond Odierno warned Pentagon officials that a force of 450,000 soldiers would be "too small" and at "high risk to meet one major war," according to documents obtained by USA TODAY. The Army could not adequately protect the U.S. and fight abroad at 420,000 soldiers, the documents stated.

Since then, the chiefs of the services have been told to list the missions they won't be able to accomplish with diminished budgets, a senior Pentagon official said on condition of anonymity because the budget will not be released for weeks.

For the Army, a force of 420,000 means that it could respond to a conflict, such as one on the Korean peninsula, but won't be able to keep up the fight for long without a significant call-up of reserve forces, said another senior military officer who also discussed the plans on condition of anonymity.

The other services will be reduced in size as well. The Navy will continue to shift its focus to the Pacific but with far fewer ships; its presence in the Persian Gulf will be lessened.             http://www.gopusa.com/news/2014/01/21/plan-would-cut-100k-soldiers-...