Army Chief Says Service Could Slim Down To 32 Brigade Combat Teams

摘要

Fort lauderd ale, fl - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno said last week that while current plans call for the service to eliminate eight brigade combat teams, leaving a total of 37, officials are discussing the possibility of cutting the number of BCTs to as few as 32. Odierno, speaking to reporters Feb. 23 at an Association of the United States Army conference, said the idea of dropping to 32 BCTs was gaining traction because of plans in the works to add a third maneuver battalion to the service's overall BCT structure. "It's about the flexibility," he said in response to a question from Inside the Army. "We want a brigade that can be flexible enough to fight a very complex war in Korea, and we want a brigade that can be training and advising. I think the third battalion being added provides a flexibility within that brigade to do a wide variety of missions." Odierno said the addition of a third maneuver battalion would give the service the opportunity to reduce some overhead. "It also allows us in this time force structure and end strength reduction to eliminate some headquarters that I think we might not need," he said.