“Any force reductions below 980,000 Soldiers will render our Army unable to meet all elements of the DSG [Defense Strategic Guidance], and we will not be able to meet the multiple challenges to US national interests,” Odierno told the US House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Because of congressionally-mandated limits, the planned US Army budget for fiscal year 2016 is 60,000 troops, $6 billion less than the US Army requested, Odierno said.
Of the $6 billion being cut out, $3.4 billion would have been spent on training and combat readiness and $2.6 billion on force modernization and innovation, the General added.
Underfunding poses a security risk with US Army personnel stretched thin across multiple continents because the velocity of instability has spread in ways inconceivable a year ago, Odierno argued.
“In the wake of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, the Army deployed forces to Eastern Europe in a demonstration of US commitment and resolve,” Odierno noted.
Overall defense spending will be cut by ten percent until 2021 under the defense-related provisions of sequestration, which will result in $487 billion in cost savings. The US military budget has declined from its peak of nearly $700 billion in 2010, according to US Defense Department data.
