By Zachary Keck
In a series of increasingly dire assessments, the U.S. Army all but declared itself to be on the verge of becoming an impotent fighting force as a result of budget cuts and sequestration.
At a joint press conference with Army Secretary John McHugh on Monday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno warned that the U.S. Army only currently has two combat-ready brigades in the entire force. According to Odierno, even many of the brigades being sent to Afghanistan are only equipped for training and advisory missions, not for combat roles.
Back in June the Army announced it was cutting 12 combat brigades as part of its efforts to meet its reduced budgetary allocation. A brigade consists of about 3,500 troops.
Although noting that the Army plans to increase the number of combat ready brigades to seven by 2017, Gen. Odierno nonetheless warned, “There is going to come a time when we simply don’t have enough money to provide what I believe to be the right amount of ground forces to conduct contingency operations. We’re not there yet, but it is something we are going to continue to review.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat