WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative John Fleming proposed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday that would have maintained troop strength levels and restore readiness to the Army and other military branches.
The measure, which ultimately did not pass the House Armed Services Committee, would have kept troop strength at 490,000, the Army's current target by the end of fiscal year 2015. The Army has been forced to whittle away its numbers as a result of sequestration, despite Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Odierno's warnings that the ever-shrinking force would be detrimental to national defense and Army readiness.
"I was proud to offer an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have prohibited the Army from moving forward with these devastating troop reductions that will weaken our national defense," Fleming said. "The Pentagon is cutting and plans to cut soldiers every single year for the foreseeable future. Deeper cuts to end strength will not make our Army more ready as our commitments continue to grow and the force is already constantly deploying. Dwell time between deployments is a measure of readiness, so our smaller force will have to work harder in the future."
The legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Elise Stefanik who represents Fort Drum, New York, would have required the Department of Defense to conduct a thorough strategic and operational analysis of the impact of further combat unit reductions, and analyze how such cuts would impact the Army's overall readiness. Further active-duty reductions below 490,000 would be prohibited until the strategy behind such cuts was thoroughly understood. The amendment had bipartisan support from House Armed Service Committee members.
Fleming's amendment was endorsed by (Ret.) Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, President of the Association of the United States Army, who wrote an official letter of support on April 27.
Fort Polk Progress Chairman Michael Reese said while the organization was hopeful to see the amendment's passage, the group is confident that as the debate continues, that more members of Congress will come to recognize the devastating nature of continued reductions to the Army.
Rep. Fleming spent considerable time with the Fort Polk Progress team in Washington D.C. last week, according to Reese.
"We are very thankful to him for working together with our team as we engaged DoD officials to better understand the threats facing not only Fort Polk, but the Army as a whole," said Reese said. "Congressman Fleming communicated clearly to the DoD his desire to address the budget constraints that are causing significant harm to all branches of service, but most importantly to the men and women of the Armed Forces. Congressman Fleming has been a tireless advocate for Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Polk, making every effort to showcase the value of these bases and dedication of those base communities to the DoD. We continue to be thankful for his support and his recognition of the danger to our country caused by continued sequester cuts related to our Armed Forces." --end--
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