US Force Structure: Cuts Coming to Air Force While Army Tries to Set Floor at 450K Troops

• The US Air Force is reportedly planning to cut more than 18,000 enlisted and almost 5,000 officer positions, many of them in security forces and materiel management.

• US Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations to reiterate that the Army shouldn’t go below 450,000 people. Given almost constant combat deployments in every decade since 1940, Odierno cautions against expectations that similar commitments won’t be made again in the foreseeable future. And he thinks maintaining a US presence will help Afghanistan establish their institutions and ramp up their economy.