U.S. Army Getting Smaller With New Defense Budget

Maj. Gen. Antonio Aguto, then the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Divsion, swears in new recruits from the Hinesville Recruiting Center during the Twilight Tattoo on May 18, 2021, on Fort Stewart, Georgia. (Army/Sgt. Lance Hartung)  

Army Times: Biden budget would mean smallest Army since WWII 

Amid a major land war in Europe, the Biden administration’s fiscal 2023 budget request would temporarily shrink the active duty Army to 473,000 troops if enacted by Congress. 

That could leave the service at its smallest size since 1940, when it had just over 269,000 troops. Other historical lows include an authorized 476,000 in fiscal 2017 and nearly 478,000 in fiscal 1999 at the nadir of the post-Cold War drawdown. 

The administration’s proposed budget would: 

* Reduce the active duty force from 485,000 — the end-strength authorized in the fiscal 2022 bill — to 473,000. 

* Maintain the Army National Guard’s current strength of 336,500 and the Army Reserve’s 189,500 troops. 

* Reduce the total Army, across all three components, to 998,500 soldiers. It’s not clear when the force last dipped below 1,000,000 troops.  

Read more .... 

U.S. Army Getting Smaller With New Defense Budget  

U.S. Army Proposes to Cut Its Troop Numbers Below 1 Million -- Bloomberg  

Flat Army Budget Request Would Fund a Smaller Force -- Defense One 

In About-Face, Army Expects to Shrink Next Year -- Defense One  

Army Sticks With Modernization Plan, But Budget Trends Are Not Encouraging -- Forbes  

US Army Proposes To Cut Troop Levels Under 1 Million For The First Time In 20 Years -- Zero Hedge