According to the current Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Ray Odierno, the budgetary cuts targeted soldier training in particular. Taking the floor on October 20th 2013 during an Army conference, he revealed that only two brigades (between 6 000 to 10 000 men) are currently combat ready.

To appreciate these numbers, one must realize that in an army section (8 to 13 men) which is placed in a combat situation, if one of them is unfit, he will put the lives of the others at risk.

The US army is made up of 555 000 active men and as many reservists.

General Odierno emphasized that the next two years would be even harder in terms of budgetary restrictions

The Under-Secretary of the Land Army, John Mc Hugh, (a moderate republican appointed by president Obama) confirmed the pessimism of his Chief of Staff.

Translation
Alizée Ville