The US defense establishment plans to reduce 40 thousand officers and soldiers over the next two years. The information was provided by the BBC Agency referring to reliable sources of the American press.
In addition, the Pentagon intends to fire 17 thousand civilian employees, who occupy posts in military structures. Therefore, the assigned personnel of the American Army will decline to 450 thousand people.
Based on the information of the USA Today newspaper, if there is a futher federal budget sequestration in October, about 30 thousand military persons can lose their job.
By comparison, in 2012, when there was an active period of military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US army totaled about 570,000 military personnel. The territory of Afghanistan still remains occupied by about 10 thousand soldiers, and their withdrawal is postponed to the next year.
In Iraq almost all American troops were demobilized already in 2010, when by decision of the President Obama the US army stopped taking part in hostilities in the territory of the country. Today there are about 3.5 thousand US military experts in Iraq, which consult on confronting jihadist armed groups.