U.S. Ground Forces Face Biggest Cut by Marcus Weisberber, Defense News.
Upcoming spending cuts are likely to end the custom of splitting DoD's budget pie evenly among the Air Force, Navy and Army - and it's the ground force that's most likely to wind up with a thinner slice. The U.S. Army is likely to suffer some of the deepest cuts as the Pentagon seeks at least $450 billion in savings over the next decade, defense experts said. The 2013 budget is due to the White House on Dec. 9…
Army Leaders Warn Against Shrinking Forces Too Much by Thom Shanker, New York Times.
The Army’s two top leaders argued Monday against shrinking their service too much, warning that the nation may have to rethink its defense strategy if the ground forces become too small…
Odierno: Army Could Shrink Below 520,000 by Jeff Shogol, Stars and Stripes.
The Army may shrink further than expected, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters on Monday…
Army: You Sure We Won’t Fight Another Ground War? By Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room.
How’s this for painful irony: Right as the Army leaves Iraq and begins to leave Afghanistan following a decade at war, it’s gearing up for intense bureaucratic misery. That’s because even the Army’s alumni argue that the looming cuts to the defense budget should slice the ground service particularly deeply. But on Monday, the Army leadership signaled it won’t give up its budget without a fight…
The Army Makes a Case for Itself by Philip Ewing, DoD Buzz.
All this talk about how the geostrategic future of the U.S. is in the Western Pacific, which means Washington should bet on the blue services? The Army’s top leaders have heard it before. Army Chief of Staff. Gen Ray Odierno said he could remember serving as a one-star on the Army Staff and seeing all the briefings and white-papers about sea– and airpower as the keys to America’s future. Then, he said, the U.S. went on to fight two prolonged land wars…
The Army Gets Set to Fight for its Budget Dollars by Jason Ukman, Washington Post.
With the Defense Department bracing for cuts to its budget, the Army is wasting no time in staking out its position as the backbone of the armed forces - one that shouldn’t get short shrift when the final budget numbers are tallied. Army officials have perhaps more reason than ever to make that kind of argument…
Top General 'Deathly Afraid' of Sequestration Cuts by Nathan Hodege, Wall Street Journal.
Gen. Raymond Odierno does not look like someone who scares easily. But the Army’s top general told reporters today he was “deathly afraid” of one thing: automatic “sequestration” cuts that would kick in if a special congressional deficit-reduction committee fails to agree on $1.5 trillion in federal savings…
U.S. Army Secretary Mchugh Says Cuts Might Be 'Catastrophic' by Brendan McGarry, Bloomberg.
U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh said defense budget cuts beyond about $450 billion planned over the next decade would “be catastrophic.”…
Budget Cuts Mean United States Can't Fight 2 Wars Army Says by Mj Lee, Politico.
The U.S. Army’s top brass said Monday that cuts beyond the planned $450 billion spending reduction in 10 years will force the Army to cut combat brigades. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff, said at the Association of the United State Army’s annual meeting that the slash in spending will mean that the military cannot fight two wars simultaneously…
General: Combat Brigades Could Face Cuts by Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press.
The Army's top general says plans to slash Pentagon spending by $450 billion will force the Army to consider cutting combat brigades. He says that will mean the military won't be able to fight two conventional wars simultaneously - as it has done for the last decade…