The Army in Hawaii escaped big troop cuts — and in fact is gaining about 165 soldiers — under one of the largest organizational changes announced for the land force since World War II.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff, said Tuesday that the service will shrink by 14 percent by 2017, to 490,000 soldiers from a wartime high of 570,000 soldiers in 2010. The Army will have 33 brigade combat teams, down from 45 today.
Army brigades of between 3,500 and 4,000 soldiers will be inactivated in Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado, New York, Kansas, Georgia and Washington state. Texas and Kentucky will see a reduction of two brigades each.
Two brigades in Germany also will be inactivated this year.
"In the future we will announce an additional (brigade combat team) to be inactivated, which will bring the number of BCTs to 32, but that decision has yet to be made," Odierno said at a Pentagon news conference.
When the Army announced plans for the reorganization in January, it said, "After more than 10 years of war, our nation is facing new challenges and opportunities that call for reshaping our defense priorities."
The service said it expects continued growth in aviation, special operations, missile defense and cyber capabilities.
The Army said the reductions reflect reduced budgets, including the 2011 Budget Control Act (separate from sequestration cuts) that trims the Defense Department’s budget by $485 billion.
Sequestration could require further reductions in the Army’s active, National Guard and Reserve force structure by as many as 100,000 soldiers in the future, Odierno said.
The Army National Guard will cut 8,000 soldiers without making any force structure changes, and the Army Reserve will skip a planned increase and maintain its current size at 205,000, the Army said.
Where the Army National Guard cuts will be made was not clear to Hawaii officials.
"We’re in a good position. We’re very relevant," said Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony, a Hawaii National Guard spokesman. "When you talk about ‘pivot to the Pacific,’ we’re confident any impacts (in Hawaii), if any, would be minimal."
The Pentagon is refocusing 60 percent of its Air Force and Navy assets to the Pacific. In 2010, Asia accounted for about a third of U.S. total merchandise trade worldwide.
"The United States is a historic Pacific power whose economy, strength and interests are inextricably linked with Asia’s economic, security and political order," the White House said previously.
Schofield Barracks is keeping its light infantry, Stryker armored vehicle and combat aviation brigades, which total more than 10,000 soldiers.
Schofield is expected to receive about 110 more soldiers, while Fort Shafter would get about 55 more soldiers in the reorganization. The Army said in 2012 that it had about 23,000 soldiers in Hawaii.
"I am very pleased that the Army decided to leave its force structure in Hawaii untouched for the near future," said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "This is important because the Army, along with the other branches of the armed forces, will play a critical role in President Obama’s strategy to re-balance to the Pacific."
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that the Army examined the possibility of cutting 8,000 soldier and government civilian positions in Hawaii.
Such a step would have removed $391 million in income annually from the local economy.
Odierno’s announcement Tuesday "reaffirms our nation’s commitment to Asia-Pacific, and I am pleased to hear that both Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter will gain soldiers for enhanced engineer and mission command capabilities, as well as headquarters functions to better serve our military personnel based in Hawaii," Hanabusa said.
"Our men and women in uniform not only risk their lives to defend our nation, they also enrich our state’s diverse culture and contribute to our communities," she added.
The Pacific region has about 85,000 soldiers, a number that will drop by a couple of thousand with the reorganization.
"As the playing field is leveled and the dust is settled, U.S. Army Pacific still has the assigned forces and capabilities to execute our mission," said Col. Mike Donnelly, a spokesman for the Fort Shafter command.
