The U.S. Army is planning to cut as many as 40,000 soldiers at home and abroad over the next two years — including about 4,350 in Georgia — as part of an overall military retrenchment, according to Army and congressional sources.
The Army would shrink to 450,000 troops by the end of fiscal year 2017. Meanwhile, Ft. Stewart near Savannah would lose 950 troops, while Ft. Benning outside of Columbus would shrink by 3,400. Ft. Gordon in Augusta would grow by 40 soldiers.
The U.S. Army has said as many as 17,000 civilians could also lose their jobs as part of the retrenchment. An official announcement is expected this week.
“I am demanding answers from the Department of Defense on how they are justifying these troop cuts in Georgia,” U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson said in a prepared statement he issued after receiving a briefing from U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh.
“We cannot afford to reduce our military readiness at a time when the threats to our security here at home and throughout the world are growing at an alarming rate. Instead, we should be using our military to send a clear signal to the rest of the world that America has no intention of standing down in the fight against the threat of terrorism worldwide.”
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