Large Army cuts loom

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The Army's reduction of 80,000 soldiers, announced in 2012 as part of a budget deal between the White House and Congress, will occur over the next four years, Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army's chief of staff, told reporters. The Pentagon's share of the cut was $487 billion.

If the automatic cuts known as sequestration continue, the reductions in Army forces will be much deeper, Odierno said, forcing the Army to shed as many as 100,000 additional soldiers.

If that happens, the reductions announced Tuesday would represent "only the first step," Odierno said.

Story.

That larger number - 180,000 - would be close to a third of the present force.

This is actually a huge story, with foreign policy, weapons, and technology implications that will extend well into the next decade. I don't pretend to know what the right force level is, but it's clear that tomorrow's Army will be a lot different than today's.