Army Predicts Cuts of Over 20,000 to Expected Size of Force Over Next 2 Years

'Unprecedented challenges' in attracting and retaining soldiers, says Army's second highest leader

Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne division walk across the tarmac at Green Ramp to deploy to Poland at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Feb. 14, 2022. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

The U.S. Army has indicated it is likely to significantly fall short of its target number of troops over the next two years amid what a top general said were “unprecedented challenges” in attracting, training, and retaining soldiers.

Army Gen. Joseph Martin, vice chief of staff for the Army, told a House military personnel panel on Tuesday that the projection for the estimated total number of troops in the force by the end of the 2022 fiscal year, Sept. 30, is 466,400.