Due to an increase in threats around the world, the U.S. government should rethink plans to reduce the size of the military's ground force, the Army's top general, Ray Odierno, said Monday.
The Army agreed - reluctantly - to cut the size of its force to 490,000 under the budget reductions originally approved in 2011, reported The Wall Street Journal. But as a result of subsequent White House-Congress spending battles and military budget reviews, Pentagon leaders said the Army has had to make plans to shrink even further, to 450,000 or even 420,000.
But as Odierno, the chief of staff of the Army, said Monday during a news conference, considering the recent growth of the Islamic State coupled with Moscow's activity in Eastern Europe, even a 490,000-strong army may be too small.
"The world is changing in front of us. We have seen Russian aggression in Europe, we have seen ISIS, we have seen increased stability in other places," Gen. Odierno said at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army, a non-profit advocate group. "So I now have concern whether even going below 490,000 is the right thing to do or not, because of what I see potentially on the horizon."
The Army currently has 510,000 active-duty members, and according to The Wall Street Journal, that number is being decreased by deactivating brigades and "forcing out mid-level officers."
The Obama administration announced in 2012 their plan to reduce the size of the Army and Marine Corps in favor of more heavily investing in Special Operations forces, drone aircraft and cybersecurity.
This week, the Army plans to unveil a new strategy which calls for a more active global engagement, and places more emphasis on preventing wars by deploying to hot spots before they erupt into more serious conflicts, according to The Wall Street Journal.
