Rethinking Readiness: The Impact of the US Army’s Historic Downsizing on National Security

A Significant Reduction

In a move that has sent ripples through military communities and beyond, the US Army has announced a significant reduction in its workforce, aiming to cut approximately 24,000 jobs. Not civilian jobs, mind you, military positions. Representatives from the Army, speaking carefully from both sides of their mouths,  have been quoted as saying,

“The Army is not asking for current soldiers to leave. As the Army builds back end strength over the next few years, most installations will likely see an increase in the number of soldiers stationed there.”  

The Army says its decision to streamline its ranks is not made lightly. It comes when the military faces multifaceted challenges, including investing in advanced technologies, cyber warfare capabilities, and new combat doctrines prioritizing speed, agility, and interoperability with allies. These shifts require reallocating financial and human resources to areas that promise to enhance the US military’s competitive edge against near-peer adversaries.

Translation: The Chinese are damn near close to being about ready to kick our asses in a fight, and we can’t recruit a volunteer Army of the size we really want.

Straight From Army Times

Don’t take it from me; an October 2023 article in Army Times clearly tells us that the service has failed to meet its recruiting goals for two years in a row. This has resulted in the smallest full-time Army force since 1940. 1940! The Year before the US entered World War II. For those of you keeping score, that’s about 425,000 active duty troops today.

Military Recruiting Ads: China vs Russia vs US

Please take 5 minutes and watch this video. It has examples of recent recruiting commercials for the Armies of China, Russia, and the US, respectively. This is something you won’t see every day. The Russians and Chinese look like badass killing machines ready to take souls. The US offering is a woke cartoon. An effing cartoon! I shit you not. If this doesn’t make you throw up in your mouth a little bit over the current might of our future military, nothing will. (Wow, for a second there, it felt like I was channeling the vibe of my brother-in-arms Geo Hand.)

Please let us know what you think in the comment section below. As faithful SOFREP readers, we’d like to get your honest take on this. Pull no punches; we don’t.

I was going to go on and write a serious piece on how having the smallest standing Army in over 80 years may somehow hinder any potential future military actions we find ourselves in, especially if we have to fight on two fronts against enemies who intend to break us and our way of life to bits, but the video left me a little depressed and scratching my head over how it came to this.

I was going to write about how the downsizing will have broad implications for communities and businesses surrounding Army installations. After all, those strippers aren’t going to tip themselves, and there are only so many tattoos one soldier can fit on his or her body. Never mind the pawn brokers; they’re just doomed.

Seriously though, the reduction in personnel will have ripple effects on local economies, from decreased spending in local businesses to potential impacts on housing markets. Tons of civilian jobs will have to be cut. Who is going to be there to pick up the pieces when that happens?

In many ways, the Army has been forced into this corner, and as any cornered beast, we must fight our way out. Until that happens, we’ll have to count on the support and resilience of the broader military community to achieve success in this new era of defense.