Pentagon trimming ranks of generals, admirals
By Craig Whitlock,
WashPost
Wednesday, December 28, 4:56 PM
With the Iraq war over and troops in Afghanistan on their way home, the U.S. military is getting down to brass tacks: culling generals and admirals from its top-heavy ranks.
Pentagon officials said they have eliminated 27 jobs for generals and admirals since March, the first time the Defense Department has imposed such a reduction since the aftermath of the Cold War, when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted the military to downsize.
The cuts are part of a broader plan to shrink the upper ranks by 10 percent over five years, restoring them to the their size when the country was last at peace, before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The changes are projected to save only a modest amount of money, but defense officials said they are symbolically important as the Pentagon adjusts to an era of austerity. The Obama administration proposes to squeeze $450 billion from defense budgets over a decade. An additional $500 billion in cuts will be triggered if Congress cannot agree on a deficit-reduction plan in the next year.
(More here.)
WashPost
Wednesday, December 28, 4:56 PM
With the Iraq war over and troops in Afghanistan on their way home, the U.S. military is getting down to brass tacks: culling generals and admirals from its top-heavy ranks.
Pentagon officials said they have eliminated 27 jobs for generals and admirals since March, the first time the Defense Department has imposed such a reduction since the aftermath of the Cold War, when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted the military to downsize.
The cuts are part of a broader plan to shrink the upper ranks by 10 percent over five years, restoring them to the their size when the country was last at peace, before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The changes are projected to save only a modest amount of money, but defense officials said they are symbolically important as the Pentagon adjusts to an era of austerity. The Obama administration proposes to squeeze $450 billion from defense budgets over a decade. An additional $500 billion in cuts will be triggered if Congress cannot agree on a deficit-reduction plan in the next year.
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
I believe there are a number of studies that indicate the military is top-heavy.
A little tidbit from TIME (12/12/2011 Nation Briefing column)
The Pentagon has said it will cut its ranks of nearly 1,000 generals and admirals by 10%, but that did not stop the Air Force from promoting 39 colonels to brigadier generals in one recent fell swoop. The flying service has the highest ratio of generals to uniformed personnel :
about 1 to 1,000.
That compares with the Navy's 1 to 1,279 sailors;
the Army's 1 to 1,808 soldiers;
and the Marines at 1 to 2,350.
Did you see that The Air Force on Thursday announced 133 out of 134 officers for promotion to captain ?
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