Members of a commission to study the Army's future talked about their views at a Defense Writers’ Group breakfast late last week concerning how many soldiers are needed to properly protect the nation and its interests.
Retired Army Gen. Carter Ham, the commission’s co-chairman; Robert Hale; and Kathleen Hicks discussed a report the trio recently sent to Congress.
The commission recommended a minimum of 980,000 soldiers -- 450,000 in the active Army, 335,000 in the National Guard and 195,000 in the Army Reserve -- which Ham called the "absolute minimum."
“So in regard to the 980,000 force broken into the components, the phrase ‘minimally sufficient’ was carefully thought through, meaning if you go below that, you start to increase risk pretty rapidly," Ham said.
The commissioners agreed that the level of funding in President Obama's budget for fiscal 2016 is the minimum amount to sustain an Army that is thoroughly prepared and modernized enough to properly secure the nation.
“The Army appreciates the independent insights and recommendations provided by the National Commission on the Future of the Army,” Brig. Gen. Malcolm Frost, the Army’s chief of public affairs, said in a statement following the commission report. “We are currently assessing the report and expect its recommendations to provide opportunities to strengthen the effectiveness of our force.”
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