U.S. Army Chief of Staff visits Fort Hood
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Former Fort Hood Commander and now U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno was back in Central Texas Friday.
During a press briefing, Odierno addressed everything from the future of the Army to effects of the budget cuts. Over the next five years, the Army is slated to reduce its force by about 80,000 soldiers.
Gen. Odierno says the impact will be absorbed across the Army.
"The specific impact on Fort Hood, my guess is would be relatively small. There will probably be some small decrement, but I expect that there will be small decrements across the entire Army at many installations,” he said.
But Odierno said all bets are off if congress doesn’t agree on how to cut spending and automatic cuts, or sequestration, takes effect early next year. That will mean an additional $500 billion in defense cuts over the next ten years.
The Chief of Staff for the Army also addressed the possibility of Base Realignment and Closure is looking unlikely for next year. BRAC is used to close unnecessary military installations. Earlier this year, the Department of Defense asked for two rounds of BRAC—one in 2013 and one in 2015.
General Raymond Odierno says the Army did a lot of its consolidating during the most recent BRAC in 2005 which is why he expects minimal impact from future BRACs.
"Installations, major installations like Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Fort Carson, and etc, they will not be effected by any future BRAC in my mind," Gen. Odierno said.
If a BRAC does happen in 2015, Odierno says the Army may take a closer look at the organization and efficiency of National Guard armories, as well as the reserves.