WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Pentagon official is signaling that the Army could lay off as many as 24,000 enlisted personnel and up to 5,000 officers to meet a projected reduction in the force.
Thomas Lamont, who is an assistant secretary of the Army, told a Senate Armed Services panel on Wednesday that he has seen numbers in that range. He said they were rough estimates based on assumption and attrition rates.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in announcing the Pentagon budget earlier this year, said the Army would shrink from a peak of 570,000 to 490,000 within five years. The Marines would drop by 20,000, to 182,000.
The Pentagon has indicated that the reductions would come through attrition. Lamont was pressed by Sen. Kelly Ayotte R-N.H., about involuntary terminations.
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
powered by Disqus
Most Popular Stories
Crane accident cuts power to one-third of Vietnam
Goat on the lam snarls NJ's Pulaski Skyway traffic
Ferris wheel ride world record broken in Chicago
Star chef killed over meal
Obama to push for transparency in face of threats
Between economy and trouble, Obama approval steady
Tea party storm largely inside IRS - so far
House to vote on variable rate student loans
GOP questions IRS scrutiny of anti-abortion groups
WVLT VOLUNTEER TV
6450 Papermill Drive Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 450-8888 - Phone (865) 450-8869 - Fax
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability
User Agent: CCBot/2.0 - 148966595
