Army Reserve may become more important as troop levels wane

2/16/2012

As the Pentagon looks to make drastic budget cuts over the next several years, the number of active duty troops will fall. However, to make sure that the U.S. does not lose its place in the geopolitical landscape, Army officials may call on the Reserve to serve a bigger role, according to Stars and Stripes.

The military is expected to lower its active duty numbers to about 490,000 - a cut of about 80,000 troops over the next six years. Though the reductions will not harm the Armed Forces' ability to go to war, it could lessen their presence in Europe, Asia and Africa, and that's where the Army Reserves would come in.

"The word I'm getting from the very top is, 'Hey, we don't want to touch the Reserve; you're too important. We're going to rely on you even more,'" Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, told a gathering of about 75 reservists recently, according to the publication. "What it means is, you're more relevant than ever."

Any cuts to the Reserve remain to be seen, but in 2010 there were about 205,000 members of the force.