Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the Army would miss its end strength by 28,000 troops in fiscal year 2022. That was not correct. The Army expects to miss its end strength by 7,000 troops in 2022 and anticipates it may lose up to 28,000 troops by fiscal 2023′s end. This article was updated at 3:30 p.m. EST on July 19, 2022.
In a stunning admission to a House Armed Services Committee panel Tuesday, the Army’s number two officer acknowledged that the service will likely be understrength by at least 7,000 soldiers when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Martin also confirmed that the Army notified a House military personnel panel that it expects to have between 445,000 and 452,000 soldiers at the end of fiscal 2023, a 28,000-soldier drop from the original end end strength the Army projected for 2022.
Martin’s spokesperson, Lt. Col. Loni Ayers, provided an emailed statement to Army Times clarifying that Martin “stated the estimated end strength for FY22 is 466.4K. Our estimated end strength for FY23 is between 445-452K.”
