The Pentagon is reported to be quietly considering a sweeping reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops from the U.S. Army, a move that underscores mounting fiscal pressures at the Pentagon and a broader shift in military strategy away from Europe and counterterrorism, reported Military.com on April 3, citing three defense officials “familiar with the deliberations.”
Internal discussions are exploring trimming the force to between 360,000 and 420,000 troops—down from its current level of roughly 450,000, Military.com reports further. The potential cuts, it says, would mark one of the most dramatic force reductions in years, as military planners aim to reshape the Army from a blunt conventional force into what they hope could be a more agile, specialized instrument better suited for future conflicts. At the end of the Cold War, Army strength stood at 780,000 troops, was reduced to 480,000 by the time of 9/11 and expanded up to between 550,000 and 570,000 for the war in Iraq.
The Army has not detailed how or where potential cuts would be made, and the service declined to comment. One defense official cautioned that such internal reviews frequently consider a range of scenarios—including extreme ones—and that no final decisions have been made.
