Congressman Cole’s Office
Congressman Tom Cole released the following statement in response to Tuesday’s announcement made by the United States Army. The announcement declared changes to the Army’s force structure that will impact numerous Army bases across the country, including Fort Sill in Lawton.
“The large-scale restructuring Army-wide will decrease Fort Sill’s size by 546 people. An Air Defense Unit will be moved from Joint Base McCord in Washington State to Fort Sill, adding 470 jobs to the force; unfortunately this number is worked into the total number of jobs lost. Currently, no reductions have been made to the Army Guard or Reserves, but the Reserve Component Program Teams (BCT’s) will match the changes to the active component of the Army.
“This week’s announcement, which comes after two years of analysis by the Army, is only the first step in the Army’s planned transformation due for completion in 2017. The overall reduction could be vastly different if sequestration stands and when the Department of Defense Strategic Management Review is completed and future changes are recommended.
“In light of the U.S. involvement overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan and the difficult budget environment we currently face, the Department of Defense has adjusted its force structure across all branches of the military, including the Army,” said Cole. “While cuts have been made and the defense budget has already been reduced by $450 billion, we likely face even more difficult choices regarding military readiness in the future. It is a sad day when those who willingly and heroically put their lives on the line for our country each day are impacted the most.”
I’m an Army retiree. The military has to take its share of cuts-but it needs to be done smartly. Unfortunately, given this President, Congress, and current Military leadership, “smartly” ain’t in the cards.