Acting deputy defense secretary Gordon England is telling the Army to get ready to cut $11.7 billion from its budget over the next several years, Inside Defense is reporting.
But instead of paring back its weapons systems or its massive modernization efforts, the Army is threatening to reduce the number of soldiers in the service.
In a highly unusual development, the Army has classified how it would pay its portion of the England-directed cuts. However, sources familiar with the recommendation say the ground service has turned not to its procurement accounts to pay its share. Instead, the Army -- already stretched thin by current deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan -- is proposing reductions to its force structure, these sources said.
Its a gold watch is what it is, said one industry official who believes the Army is fully aware that the Office of the Secretary of Defense would be loath to reduce the size of the service. Its causing quite some perturbations, said the official.
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