New Organization of the U.S. Army; Pentagon Prepares for 'Large-Scale Wars'

The U.S. Army is set to reduce approximately 24,000 personnel, or about five percent of its workforce, as part of a new planning and organization initiative to better prepare for future combat operations and large-scale wars while also addressing recruitment challenges. According to the Associated Press, this reduction in human resources will primarily focus on vacant positions, including roles related to counterinsurgency that increased during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and are no longer as necessary. In this new organization, about 7,500 personnel will be added in other critical areas, including air defense and counter-drone units, as well as five new global strike groups with cyber, intelligence, and advanced long-range strike capabilities. Christian Worley, Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, emphasized in a press conference on Tuesday the strategy of moving away from counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency approaches to better prepare for future combat operations and large battles. This reorganization plan comes after two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which the Army had to rapidly and significantly expand its human resources to provide the necessary forces for deployment to war fronts. The reorganization plan also takes into account recruitment issues to address past challenges. In the last fiscal year, which ended on September 30, the Army, Navy, and Air Force failed to meet their established recruitment goals. For instance, the Army was supposed to recruit 65,000 personnel but only managed to attract over 50,000.