Lt. Gen. Anthony Ierardi, deputy chief of staff of the Army G-8, told Defense News in an interview published Monday that the military service will have to use natural attrition and involuntary turnover methods to meet force-reduction goals.He said to Defense News reporter Joe Gould the Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers from its active component as well as lower troop size in the National Guard and Reserve units over the next few years.
“By the end of this, about 2018, we’ll be at about a 980,000 force.”
“Under full sequestration, we talked about going down as low as 920,000.”
During the interview, Ierardi also mentioned the Army’s proposal to modernize Stryker armored combat vehicles and develop methods to enable unmanned-manned system coordination.
The branch wants to add mobility, firepower and protection features to its Stryker fleet, he told Defense News.
He noted the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle development initiative as a priority program for the military branch and that the organization continues to invest in armor, power generation systems and information sharing tools.
Ierardi added he expects the Army to continue to deploying rotational forces to perform missions globally.
