Army ‘taking a hard look’ at what end-strength it can actually afford February 18 Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade pictured in December at Grafenwöhr Training Area, in Germany. (Maj. Robert Fellingham/Army) As the Army faces tighter budgets in the coming years, keen observers wonder whether ambitious modernization programs will be curtailed to make way for end-strength growth, or vice versa. “We’d like a much bigger Army, but what I have to do at my level is say, you know, what can we actually afford,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said Wednesday during a virtual discussion hosted by the Heritage Foundation. “That’s what we’re taking a hard look at.”