The administration of President Donald Trump promised big changes to the status quo in short order when it re-took the White House last November.
And as far as the U.S. Army goes, it appears to be doing just that.
Now under the purview of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a report has surfaced that the military “is quietly considering a sweeping reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops,” according to Military.com.
“[T]hree defense officials familiar with the deliberations” have cited pressure from the Pentagon to cut expenditures, as well as a general move away from spending military resources in Europe, as the reasons for this potentially drastic action.
As far as the Pentagon goes, that group appears to be working on an order from Hegseth, who demanded that it cut 8 percent from the budget.
Hegseth has specifically targeted leftist programs, such as climate change, as ones to cut at the Pentagon, but as Military.com noted, “Eliminating such programs alone would not yield anywhere close to 8 percent savings, making reductions in combat forces likely unavoidable.”
The current number of troops sits at roughly 450,000, and top officials are reportedly looking to bring that figure down to anywhere from 360,000 to 420,000.
The concerns of European involvement, meanwhile, come from the very top down.
Do you agree with the direction the American military is headed?
Both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have been critical of various aspects of America’s relationship with Europe, especially when it comes to armed conflict.
Trump has gone on record to criticize NATO and European nations for not paying their fair share for what virtually amounts to year-around American protection.
🚨BREAKING: Trump announces The United States WILL NOT defend any countries who are not paying NATO dues. pic.twitter.com/cMWrh54sJp
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) March 7, 2025
Vance, meanwhile, has just generally been resistant to America’s involvement in any conflict abroad.
Stars and Stripes also reported that the Army is slashing and/or merging training programs to streamline it, marking another cut and change to the military under Hegseth.
But perhaps no change for the military got more national attention than when Hegseth announced that he’s ordering combat readiness standards to be the same for both men and women on Monday.
For far too long, we have allowed standards to slip. We’ve had different standards for men/women serving in combat arms MOS’s and jobs….
That’s not acceptable, and it changes right now! pic.twitter.com/Zn9OyBew6G
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 31, 2025
“For far too long, we have allowed standards to slip,” Hegseth posted to X. “We’ve had different standards for men/women serving in combat arms MOS’s and jobs….
“That’s not acceptable, and it changes right now!”
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