West: US Army readiness delayed to 2020
The US Army has been degraded by a high operational tempo and sequestration in recent years that means it won’t achieve full readiness until 2020.
Speaking at West 2015 in San Diego, deputy secretary of defense Robert Work said: ‘Even if Congress gets rid of sequestration and gives us the full President’s budget level it’s going to take until 2020 for the Army, Marines and Navy to get back to full spectrum combat readiness,’ he said. ‘And it’s going to take the Air Force until 2023.’
He outlined and defended the assumptions and realities underpinning the ‘strategy driven’ fiscal year
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