Report: Budget Cuts Would Mean The Loss Of 150,000 Soldiers

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sept. 22, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Army, Marines Could Cut 150K Troops -- Politico

House Republican hawks have a new weapon against automatic cuts to defense spending — a detailed analysis by Armed Services Committee staff showing that the cuts could leave the Pentagon with its lowest share of the federal budget since before World War II, shrinking the Army and Marine Corps by some 150,000 troops and leaving fewer warships and combat aircraft to project U.S. power around the world.

The analysis, distributed Friday as part of panel Chairman Buck McKeon’s efforts to lobby against deeper defense cuts by the deficit-reduction supercommittee, went out in time to give committee members talking points for the Rosh Hashanah break this week.

Read more ....

My Comment: This would essentially "hollow-out" the U.S. military in conducting foreign operations, or make the U.S. military essentially a national defense force.