Budget cuts under sequestration are hurting the Army’s preparedness and workforce, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told Defense News in an interview published Thursday.Vago Muradian writes the Army is set to reduce its war troops from 570,000 to 490,000 soldiers under the mandatory federal spending cuts.
Odierno also told the publication one soldier brigade is set to defer training at the National Training Center because of funding shortfalls.
“I certainly hope we do not have to deploy soldiers, but my job is to make sure we are ready to deploy them,” Odierno told Defense News.
“And if we have to do it in the next six years, we have significant problems, because I think they will not be trained or equipped the way we think they should be as American soldiers to do their job,†Odierno said in the interview.
Odierno also cited the rising costs of equipment as one of the Army’s challenges in the interview.
