The U.S. Army will eliminate nearly 5% of its force, or about 24,000 posts, as the military begins a restructuring effort due to recruiting shortfalls.
According to officials, the Army is “significantly over-structured,” and there aren’t enough soldiers in its current ranks to fill existing units. The proposed cuts primarily represent empty posts, not actual soldiers, held over from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As part of the move, Army leaders say the service will pivot from a close-combat, counterinsurgency strategy to the larger-scale, multi-domain structure needed to fight the next major war.
