The military has been drastically slashed since the days of the Reagan build-up in the 1980s. It has 1 million fewer active-duty personnel and 35% to 40% fewer major combat units. Even since the 2001 9/11 attacks, the number of active-duty troops has decreased by more than 100 thousand people. Meanwhile, the civilian government workforce inside the Department of Defense has increased by 136,000, Gen. Punaro said.
“Cutting warfighters and adding bureaucrats does not strike fear into our adversaries,” he said. “The growth has continued consistently through many administrations, both Democrat and Republican, and it persists today.”
Even when the Defense Department attempts a cost-cutting measure, the effects are often negligible. In 2010, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates decided to shut down Joint Forces Command, the military’s primary provider of conventional forces. More than 2,000 people assigned to the command were reassigned to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
Book Excerpt: Pruning The Acquisition Kudzu
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Ex-Marine general decries shrinking force, swelling bureaucracy
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