The Obama administration will unveil a "more realistic" vision for the military on Thursday, with plans to cut tens of thousands of ground troops and invest more in air and sea power at a time of fiscal restraint, officials familiar with the plans said on Wednesday. [...]
Though specific budget cut and troop reduction figures are not set to be announced on Thursday, officials confirmed to Reuters they would amount to a 10-15 percent decline in Army and Marine Corps numbers over the next decade, translating to tens of thousands of troops.
A GOP staffer on Capitol Hill tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the Obama administration's plan is to cut the active duty U.S. army from its current size of nearly 570,000 members to 490,000 members. The staffer didn't have an exact figure on cuts to the Marine Corps, but there are 200,000 active duty Marines. A 10 percent cut would translate to 20,000 fewer Marines than there are today, and a 15 percent cut would mean 30,000 fewer Marines.
