Army to 24,000 soldiers: Take a hike, bub

I've been reading a briefing by Maj. Gen. Richard P.
Mustion, commander of the Army's Human Resources Command, who predicts that
the Army will have to eject about 24,500 soldiers in the next five years. That
is, in order to reach the projected size of 490,000 in 2018, it will have to
lose 17,000 more enlisted soldiers than it would lose through natural rates of
attrition, and also 7,300 officers.

I hadn't seen those numbers before. Have youse?

I actually think the Army is going to have to lose more than
that, because I think the overall defense budget will be cut more than the Pentagon
expects. If that happens, I hope the Army aims to maintain quality more than
quantity.