Chief: Sequestration could create 'hollow Army': The Army is in danger of becoming a "hollow Army" if sequestration returns in 2016, the service's top officer said Thursday.
"If sequestration occurs, for the next three to four to five years, we're moving towards a hollow Army," Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said. "What does a hollow Army mean? My definition of a hollow Army is one that we don't properly train our soldiers. They aren't able to do the exercises that they need. They're not able to have the ammunition necessary. They don't have the equipment they need. They're not able to sustain their equipment to the levels that are necessary for them to respond, no notice, to an unknown threat in potentially five different places around the world."
Odierno, who spoke at the Association of the United States Army's Institute of Land Warfare breakfast, said the Army has already reduced its modernization funding by almost 50 percent, and those cuts will only get worse if sequestration returns.
"So now we're not investing in training, we're not investing in equipment, and this falls on the shoulders of our soldiers," he said. "The ones who will pay the price are the men and women who show up, because they will go no matter what. It's up to us to make sure they have what they need."
