JUST IN: Marine Corps Commandant Defends Equipment Divestment, End Strength Cuts
9/1/2021
By Meredith Roaten
The decisions to continue decreasing Marine Corps end strength and divesting of legacy capabilities is about increasing readiness, not saving money, the service's top officer said Sept. 1.
Commandant Gen. David Berger said prioritizing next-generation capabilities and cutting troop numbers by nearly 3,000 Marines this year are part of a strategy to prepare for the future.
“It's not shrinking the size of the Marine Corps to save money and then pour that money into the new force,” he said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s sizing the force for what you need, what you think you'll be asked to do in the future.”
In President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2022 budget request, the Marine Corps topline would grow to $47.9 billion in 2022 from $45.1 billion in 2021. Despite the anticipated growth in funding, active-duty end strength is also being cut from 181,200 to 178,500 personnel.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/9/1/marine-corps-commandant-defends-force-size-divestment
