The Pentagon plans to cut back the united states Army by greater than an eighth to its lowest level since before World War II, signaling a shift after greater than a decade of ground wars.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recommended shrinking US forces from 520,000 active duty troops to between 440,000 and 450,000.
In a speech outlining the proposed defense budget Monday, he said that once Iraq and Afghanistan, military leaders not plan to “conduct long and big stability operations.”
If approved by Congress, the move would scale back the military to its lowest levels since 1940, before the yank military dramatically expanded after entering World War II.
The proposed 13 percent reduction within the army will be executed by 2017, a senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The spending plan is the 1st to “fully reflect” a transition clear of a war footing that have been in place for 13 years, Hagel said, adding it was time to “reset” military spending for a brand new era.
The move comes amid growing fiscal pressures and after years of protracted counter-insurgency campaigns, which saw the military reach a peak of greater than 566,000 troops in 2010.
US troops have already withdrawn from Iraq and President Barack Obama has promised to finish America’s combat role in Afghanistan by the top of this year.
The Pentagon had previously planned to downsize the floor force to about 490,000.
But Hagel warned that to evolve to future threats “the army must accelerate the pace and increase the size of its post-war drawdown.”
Hagel also said the military national guard and reserves will be cut by five percent.
The smaller force would entail some “added risk” nevertheless it would still be ready to defeat an adversary in a single region while also “supporting” air and naval operations in another, he said.
The Pentagon for years had planned to make sure the military could fight two major wars together but that doctrine have been abandoned.
Even under the planned reductions, the united states Army will remain probably the most largest on this planet and the yank military’s budget still dwarfs other countries’ defense spending.
While the military will see troop numbers drop, the military’s elite special operations forces would be increase to 69,700 from the present level of 66,000.
The proposed budget also requires scrapping the Air Force’s entire fleet of A-10 “tank killer” aircraft and retiring the storied U-2 spy plane that dates back to the 1950s.
Instead, commanders have opted to take a position more within the new hi-tech F-35 fighter jet and the unmanned Global Hawk surveillance drone.
The budget would cut back america Navy’s planned fleet of littoral combat ships, a small vessel designed for coastal waters that faces questions on its reliability.
Instead of 52 LCS ships, the budget requires building only 32 and requires the navy to check developing similar ships with heavier weapons and tougher defenses.
Venturing into politically sensitive territory, Hagel also referred to as for slowing growth in pay and benefits — which make up nearly half the Pentagon’s budget — and shutting more bases within the Usa.
Cutting back the scale of the military is unlikely to come across strong opposition in Congress, but lawmakers have long resisted base closures or any reform of pay, pensions or other benefits.
A senior US military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the political challenge.
“We’re going to wish some help from our elected representatives to get this budget around the finish line,” the officer said.
Military spending doubled after the attacks of 11th of September, 2001 but has began to decline as lawmakers push to slash government budgets.
Under a bipartisan accord adopted in December to avert automatic spending cuts, the Defense Department may have a $496 billion budget for fiscal year 2015.
But the Pentagon is backing a $26 billion “opportunity” fund that will bolster training and other programs.
The White Home is to offer the complete federal budget on March 4.
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