{"id":25906,"date":"2020-02-20T20:48:11","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T20:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/20\/army-has-no-plans-to-curtail-personnel-growth-or-cut-force-structure\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:31:05","slug":"army-has-no-plans-to-curtail-personnel-growth-or-cut-force-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/02\/20\/army-has-no-plans-to-curtail-personnel-growth-or-cut-force-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Army has no plans to curtail personnel growth or cut force structure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Army doesn\u2019t plan to cut into its planned end-strength growth<\/a> as long as the operations tempo<\/a> remains high, the service secretary and Army chief of staff<\/a> said during a press gaggle Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you have tough [deploy]-to-dwell ratios like we face, we got to continue to grow or we got to reduce demand,\u201d said Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy. \u201cThis is simple economics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has spent the past few years reviewing legacy systems and modernization programs<\/a>, cutting those it doesn\u2019t need and reallocating funds to those it deems the most important to get the service ready for future fights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those appraisals came as the Army worked to rehabilitate its end-strength numbers and increase the readiness of units. And while some analysts have wondered whether cuts to troop numbers<\/a> will eventually be done to fund modernization, Army leaders said they have no plans to do so at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to make tough choices in the research, development and acquisition portfolio until it pressurizes to a point where we can\u2019t sustain it, but that\u2019s years from now,\u201d McCarthy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deploy-to-dwell ratios decreased modestly as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq lowered the number of boots on the ground following the surge years. However, the Army still rotates brigades through Europe as part of the Atlantic Resolve commitment to NATO allies; to Asia as part of a program to court partners surrounding China; and to Africa to help build militaries in developing countries on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also no secret that the vast majority of combat casualties<\/a> in America\u2019s foreign wars remain relegated to the Army. Fourteen of the 17 U.S. troops killed in action in Afghanistan last year were soldiers. Of the 192 U.S. personnel wounded in action, more than 170 were soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\t