Retiring Gen. Raymond T. Odierno op-ed: This Is No Time to Cut The U.S. Army

We need a force of 490,000 as global dangers rise. It’s at 450,000 and heading down.

For almost 40 years, I have had the honor to serve alongside the great men and women of the United States Army. I have been inspired by their professionalism and unwavering commitment to the mission, to the Army, and to the nation. Our leaders at every level have displayed unparalleled ingenuity, flexibility and adaptability. Our soldiers have displayed mental and physical toughness and courage under fire. They have transformed the Army into the most agile, adaptive and expeditionary strategic land force the world has ever known.

After a nine-month combat deployment in Afghanistan, 

soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Brigade Combat 

Team, 1st Infantry Division, participate in homecoming 

ceremony at Fort Knox, Ky., Nov. 20, 2013. 

Photo: Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

Today, the Army is engaged in Iraq, Afghanistan and Jordan; in Kosovo, the Korean Peninsula and across the African continent. We have rotational forces in Europe, Kuwait and the Pacific. And our missions are both wide-ranging and essential. The missions include humanitarian assistance, training and advising forces in combat, and reassuring allies with a dedicated U.S. military presence.

As the velocity of world-wide instability rises, the demand for the U.S. Army escalates around the globe, with American soldiers responding where others either won’t or can’t. The threats they face are more complex and diverse than at any other point in recent memory. The nation’s enemies are determined, and they increasingly have the capability to threaten regional and world order, as well as America’s physical security and economic stability.

The unpredictable strategic landscape is marked by Russian aggression, China’s military modernization, North Korea’s belligerence and the rise of anarchy, extremism and terrorism, led by Islamic State, in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. All this while the U.S. military also maintains an advise-and-assist mission in Afghanistan, supplies global disaster relief, and protects against continued threats to the homeland.

These burdens on the military, coupled with persistent budget pressures, have brought the country to an important inflection point. Decisions made in Washington today regarding defense must be based on the world as it is, not the world as we wish it to be.

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