By MARCUS WEISGERBER and JOHN T. BENNETT
WASHINGTON — Congress and others in the defense community pushed back on Pentagon plans to cut 120,000 personnel from the active and reserve Army ranks, retire entire fleets of Air Force aircraft and sideline Navy ships.
“We believe that we will present a budget that can fulfill the commitments that we have to this nation, our people, to keep them safe and secure, and also the commitments that we have to our allies and partners around the world,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Monday of DoD’s $496 billion, 2015 budget proposal.
The proposal — which will officially be sent to Congress on March 4 — calls for an additional $26 billion through a separate request called the “Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative.” The money would go toward improving military readiness. The Obama administration plans to find this additional money by closing tax loopholes and reforming spending programs, officials said.
The budget proposal recommends keeping an aircraft carrier, but sidelining half of the Navy’s cruiser fleet. It would also retire the Air Force’s A-10 and U-2 fleets.
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