The U.S. Army is cutting 24,000 jobs as the Pentagon continues to shift its priority to countering Chinese and Russian military power after two decades of focusing on the fight against terrorism, according to a new Army document.
The cuts are in line with the national defense strategy begun by President Donald J. Trump and widely supported by the Biden administration, which emphasizes increasing threats to the United States from an emboldened Russia and China.
During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the number of armies rose to nearly 600,000, but the end of those conflicts contributed to a steady decline as soldiers returned to garrison.
The job cuts, previously reported by The Associated Press, also implicitly acknowledge the recruiting problems that have plagued the Army – and other military services – in recent years. The Army, Navy and Air Force failed to meet their recruiting goals last year. Army officials have traveled to college campuses in urban areas to try to tap underrepresented communities for recruits.
The new document says the cuts will allow the Army to “narrow the gap between the force structure, which was designed for 494,000 soldiers, and the current active-duty end strength, which is legally set at 445,000 soldiers.” According to the document, the goal is now to reach a final army strength of 470,000 men.
Defense Department officials say several problems have hampered recruiting. They find that the proportion of young Americans qualified and interested in military service has declined. A low unemployment rate has also meant that young people have other options.
“The Army will downsize surplus, largely unmanned 'hollow' force structures and establish new formations equipped with new capabilities required for large-scale combat operations,” the document says. “By better aligning force structure and end strength, the Army is ensuring its formations are staffed at the right level to maintain a high state of readiness.”
Defense Department officials said last year that the Army planned to cut about 3,000 positions from its special forces. That number would be in the 24,000, an official said Tuesday.
For more than 20 years, American military commanders and senior defense officials have worried whether the focus on counterinsurgency has left the military unprepared for a major power land war.
But even as the Pentagon continues its focus on the latter, events in the Middle East sparked by the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 and Israel's resulting retaliatory campaign in Gaza have made it clear that the Pentagon – and the Army – will have to do both, and probably for many years to come.
Pentagon officials say the challenge continues to put pressure on an already overstretched military. Added to this is the uncertainty that has surrounded the Pentagon's budget since 2011, when mandatory spending caps were introduced.
“The things we are reducing in our formation are not going to make us successful on the battlefield in the future,” Gen. Randy George, the Army chief of staff, told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast on Tuesday.
He said the Army has other capabilities “that we want to expand and add,” including those that help protect troops and Americans from drone, missile and even ballistic missile attacks.