The US Army is making drastic cuts to its size, mostly slashing empty positions in a major revamp amid recruitment struggles.
In total, the Army is planning to claw back its force by roughly 24,000 — nearly 5% of its positions — targeting many jobs that officials no longer believe are necessary, according to a document on the restructuring.
This includes a reduction of roughly 3,000 from Army special forces as well as other counter-insurgency posts that are less critical now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have winded down.
Other planned cuts include 10,000 from engineer-related posts; 2,700 from units that aren’t frequently deployed; 10,000 from various cavalry squadrons, combat teams and foreign assistance brigades; and 6,500 from miscellaneous posts.
The revamp is aimed at addressing concerns that the Army is “significantly overstructured,” according to the document.
Officials are not expected to ask any soldiers to leave, but rather slash “spaces” not “faces.”
“The Army is not asking current soldiers to leave. As the Army builds back-end strength over the next few years, most installations will likely see an increase in the number of soldiers actually stationed there,” the document stressed.
All of these structural changes are the result of a “Total Army Analysis” that the military branch underwent last year to chart out a comprehensive restructuring plan.
At the moment, the Army has been organized to have as many as 494,000 soldiers, yet there are only an estimated 445,000 active-duty troops currently on the force.
The Army aims to build up its force to around 470,000 over the next five years, per the overhaul plan.
All of this comes against the backdrop of the branch trying to recalibrate away from the war on terror that dominated its duties in the 2000s to preparedness against threats from foreign nations.
“In light of the changing security environment and evolving character of war, the Army is refocusing on conducting large-scale combat operations against technologically advanced military powers,” the paper on restructuring explained.
It also comes against the backdrop of serious recruitment troubles. Last fiscal year, the Army, Navy and Air Force fell short of their recruitment goals.
Ultimately, the Army drew roughly 50,000 recruits, far below the objective of around 65,000 during the fiscal year 2023, which ended at the end of September.
The Army has worked to revitalize and ramp up its recruitment process, by building up a professional team of recruiters.