Pentagon plans to shrink US Army to pre-second world war levels
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel reveals plans to reduce the size of the US Army by 13 per cent, as conflicts in Afghanistan, and earlier Iraq, come to a close
The Pentagon plans to scale back the US Army by more than an eighth to its lowest level since before the second world war, signaling a shift in policy after more than a decade of ground conflicts.
Saying it was time to “reset” for a new era, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel recommended shrinking American forces from 520,000 active duty troops to between 440,000 and 450,000.
In a speech outlining the proposed defence budget, he said on Monday that after Iraq and Afghanistan, US military leaders no longer plan to “conduct long and large stability operations”.
If approved by Congress, the Pentagon move would reduce the army to its lowest manning levels since 1940, before the American military dramatically expanded after entering the second world war.
The proposed 13 per cent reduction in the army would be carried out by 2017, a senior defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.
The spending plan is the first to “fully reflect” a transition away from a war footing that has been in place for 13 years, Hagel said at a press conference.
