Army Times speaks with Gen. Raymond Odierno as he completes his term as Army Chief of Staff, who expressed his concern that “the service is in danger of becoming too small for an increasingly dangerous world.”  

“Since 2012, the Army has cut 80,000 soldiers and shut down 13 brigade combat teams, including two in Germany and one in South Korea, to reach an end-strength of 490,000. The service will cut 40,000 more soldiers for an end-strength of 450,000 by the end of fiscal year 2018; another 30,000 soldiers could be forced to go if sequestration returns in fiscal 2016, which begins Oct. 1.”  

Said Odierno: “If we get small enough where some of these [world] leaders don’t believe the Army can respond or deter them, if you can’t … deter them from believing they can accomplish something … that increases the threats and danger to the United States… And I don’t know what that level is, but I think we’re getting dangerously close to that level now.”