Army Correspondence Courses

What goes up, must come down. At least that is the case for an army during and after wartime, according to its top general.

[House GOP Hawks Court Obama on Defense Cuts Reversal.]
As Pentagon observers search for winners and losers among the armed services after the Pentagon previewed its 2013 spending plan, it is easy to label the U.S. Army a big loser.
After all, if Congress approves an Obama administration plan, the ground service will shrink to 490,000 active-duty soldiers by 2017. That would be reduction of 80,000 troops. The Army also will shed “force structure”?gear [...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/dotmil/2012/1/27/army-chief-on-troop-cuts-what-goes-up?s_cid=rss:dotmil:army-chief-on-troop-cuts-what-goes-up

Military officials moved quickly Friday to counter the perception that the Army was the big loser in the new Pentagon budget unveiled Thursday.

Skip to next paragraph

In Pictures: US military muscle

[...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0127/How-Pentagon-budget-cuts-will-reshape-the-Army

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Army’s top general on Friday endorsed plans to reduce the size of his force by 80,000 soldiers over the next six years, pledging a steady drawdown that would take care of troops and their families rather than “running our nation’s Army off a cliff.”
General Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said the drawdown would begin this year and take place mainly through attrition. It would include withdrawal of two heavy infantry brigades from Europe, one in 2013 and another in 2014, both of which would be removed from the force rather than relocating to the United States.
[...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-army-general-backs-plan-cut-80-000-000223434.html

[...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://www.stripes.com/news/army-air-force-chiefs-defend-cuts-in-end-strength-1.166957?localLinksEnabled=false

Military – US

Published January 27, 2012 | Associated Press

Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/27/army-chief-sees-greater-role-for-reserves/

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s decision to cut the size of the Army by 80,000 soldiers will force the military to rely more on the National Guard and reserves, particularly if the U.S. gets into two major, long-term combat operations at the same time, according to the top Army officer.Gen. Raymond Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, said he is comfortable with the mandate to go from 570,000 soldiers during the height of the Iraq war to 490,000 by 2017. But he suggested that the U.S. will now have to keep its reserve forces at a higher level of readiness than it did before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan pressed tens of thousands citizen soldiers into service [...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/army-chief-sees-greater-role-reserves-150000557.html

When we celebrate Republic Day, and not Armed Forces Day, there needs to be more of fun and colour, and less of khaki, argues Anil Chowdhry As a person who has been actively involved in the elaborate arrangements for the grand pageantry of the Republic Day parade for almost a decade — first as the head of the Delhi Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau and then Intelligence Bureau’s VIP security wing, I have always felt the rules of the show need to be recast. While in service I was bound by norms to remain discreet, but now that sufficient time has elapsed since I retired, I have less hesitation in expressing my objections openly. I welcome comments, particularly [...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-why-we-need-to-demilitarise-republic-day/20120127.htm

irishtimes.com – Last Updated: Friday, January 27, 2012, 16:56Syrian soldiers who defected to join the Free Syrian Army are seen among demonstrators during a protest against Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad in Khalidieh, near Homs. Photograph: ReutersArmed forces loyal to president Bashar Assad have been accused of massacring at least 30 people in renewed violence in Syria.Activists said government troops fired on homes with mortars and machine guns.A family of women and children were reported to be among the victims during a day of sectarian killings and kidnappings in the besieged city of Homs.The violence erupted yesterday, but important details were only emerging a day later.Video posted online by activists showed the bodies of five small children, five women of [...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/851/f/10840/s/1c2c5076/l/0L0Sirishtimes0N0Cnewspaper0Cbreaking0C20A120C0A1270Cbreaking30Bhtml/story01.htm

The administration will instead spend more on unmanned vehicles and Special Operations forces that can be deployed quickly and will not require large, expensive bases. The military will also largely preserve its manpower and weapons systems geared toward the Middle East.The Pentagon said it would ask Congress for $525 billion in 2013, which represents a 1 percent decrease from the current year. While the difference may sound small, it represents a new era of austerity for the Defense Department that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, when the military was still accustomed to huge annual raises after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.Pentagon leaders characterized the cuts in solemn tones. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta called them a [...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-budget-set-to-shrink-next-year/2012/01/26/gIQALpfNTQ_story.html?wprss=rss_business

Derek Chollet currently serves as NSC senior director for strategy. (Zocalo)The shuffle of top Pentagon officials that started last summer with the departure of Robert Gates continues in the senior policy ranks.
Yahoo News has learned that Derek Chollet, the National Security Council’s senior director for strategic planning, tops the short list and is currently being vetted to be nominated to succeed Alexander “Sandy” Vershbow as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO and South Korea, is slated to move to Belgium early next month to become the top civilian official at NATO.
Chollet has been at the NSC for about a year. Before that, he served as deputy director of the State [...] Continue Reading…

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/senior-nsc-aide-vetted-pentagon-assistant-secretary-post-140016138.html