The Army is quietly considering a sweeping reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops, a move that underscores mounting fiscal pressures at the Pentagon and a broader shift in military strategy away from Europe and counterterrorism, according to three defense officials familiar with the deliberations.
Internal discussions are exploring trimming the force to between 360,000 and 420,000 troops — down from its current level of roughly 450,000. The potential cuts would mark one of the most dramatic force reductions in years, as military planners aim to reshape the Army from a blunt conventional force into what they hope could be a more agile, specialized instrument better suited for future conflicts. It’s unclear whether any cuts are being mulled for the Army Reserve or National Guard.
The move comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to come up with plans to cut 8% from the budget. Hegseth has long criticized what he describes as “woke” initiatives within the military, though that critique has centered on ill-defined cultural grievances and confused the force on how to comply and on what exactly needs scrubbing.