AN ARMY OF ONE: Obama Admin Wants to Cut Army’s Force Size by 25,000 by 2018.

While the Obama administration’s Defense Department is seeking to cut the force by 25,000 over current levels, the House is proposing to grow the Army by 5,000. The Senate is proposing to cut levels by 15,000.

The disparate plans highlight a lack of cohesion in the U.S. government about how strong the Army should be as America stretches its fighting forces across the globe to counter Islamic terrorism and a range of other threats.

“The debate about the size of the Army may well continue into the next Congress, as the Department of Defense plans further reductions in the size of the Army, proposing FY2018 end strength of 450,000,” the report states. “There will be also be a new president in January, and his or her policy priorities may revise the contours of this debate.”

It might be easier to decide what size force we need if we had an overarching grand strategy instead of a disjointed series of ad hoc engagements and disengagements.