An internal memo sent to active and retired Army generals says automatic budget cuts could cripple the army, the Washington Times reports.
"A major point is that unless we get relief from sequestration, the Army will soon be unable to fully execute Defense Strategic Guidance requirements and we will be on a path to a hollow Army," Maj. Gen. Laura Richardson wrote in an Oct. 3 memo to the general-officer community.
Budget caps were suspended under a bipartisan budget deal but could return in fiscal year 2016.
The Army’s active duty force has shrunk from 570,000 during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to 450,000. Cuts could shrink it to 420,000.
Gen. [Raymond T.] Odierno has asserted that the 450,000 level is the absolutely lowest the active force can go and still carry out its strategic responsibilities.
The Army has recently deployed troops to Europe as a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to Baghdad to advise the Iraqi Security Forces, and to West Africa to aid in stemming the spread of Ebola. The Army also maintains troops in Afghanistan.
In an interview, Gen. Odierno told the Army Times that more budget cuts will take the Army to a "breaking point."
He said he would have to further reduce purchases of weapons systems needed to modernize a war-weary force.