Army now down to 496,079 soldiers, near drawdown goal
By Jim Tice
The drawdown has reduced the Regular Army to 496,079 soldiers, some 23,700 fewer troops than were on the active-duty rolls at this time last year.
The Defense Department's most recent accounting of Army personnel strength shows that manning levels were reduced by 2,081 soldiers in March, which is only 6,079 shy of the end-strength goal of 490,000 for fiscal 2015.
Unless revised by Congress or the Obama administration, the Army will drop an additional 15,000 soldiers in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, and another 25,000 by the end of the decade.
Statistics compiled by the Defense Manpower Data Center also indicate the Army's reserve components had a combined strength of 546,600 in March, a reduction of nearly 780 troops since the beginning of calendar 2015.
U.S. sailors conduct special patrol insertion-extraction technique training near Naval Station Rota, Spain, May 7, 2015. The training helps sailors prepare for contingencies in which U.S. special operations and expeditionary forces need to quickly extract from areas where helicopters cannot safely land. The sailors are assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2.
U.S. Navy photo
Demographic information compiled by the data center also shows that women comprise 15 percent of the Regular Army, with 15,839 officers, 53,057 enlisted soldiers and 759 West Point cadets.
U.S. sailors conduct special patrol insertion-extraction technique training near Naval Station Rota, Spain, May 7, 2015. The training helps sailors prepare for contingencies in which U.S. special operations and expeditionary forces need to quickly extract from areas where helicopters cannot safely land. The sailors are assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2.
U.S. Navy photo
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