,i #aadth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #decd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #aa1 #bjaf ,mr4 ,gibson 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,turner1 ,mr4 ,walz1 ,mr4 ,nugent1 ,mr4 ,austin ,scott of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,russell1 ,mr4 ,wittman1 ,mr4 ,wilson of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,o',rourke1 ,ms4 ,stefanik1 ,mr4 ,fleming1 ,mr4 ,ashford1 ,mr4 ,wenstrup1 ,mr4 ,crawford1 ,mr4 ,zeldin1 ,ms4 ,gabbard1 ,mr4 ,young of ,alaska1 ,mr4 ,zinke1 and ,mr4 ,moulton7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to recognize the importance of the land forces of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces and to revise the fiscal year #bjaf end-strength levels for these ,land ,forces and specify new permanent active duty end strength minimum levels1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting ,our ,security ,through ,utilizing ,right-,sized ,end-,strength ,act of #bjaf or the ,,posture ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the first function of ,government is to secure its people and their rights4 ,the ,united ,states is blessed that countless men and women have done so by serving in the ,armed ,forces1 which consists of the ,army1 ,navy1 ,marine ,corps1 ,air ,force1 and ,coast ,guard4 7#b7 ,history has shown that sufficient ,land ,forces are critical to the security of the ,american people and their rights and to assure ,united ,states allies1 deter aggression1 shape security environments1 and win wars4 ,furthermore1 ,land ,forces have been proven to be essential to consolidate gains and achieve sustainable outcomes4 7#c7 ,the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states are comprised of the ,army 7,active ,army1 ,army ,reserve1 and ,army ,national ,guard7 and the ,marine ,corps 7,active ,marine ,corps and ,marine ,corps ,reserve74 7#d7 ,on the day before ,september #aa1 #bjja1 the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states included #a1jcf1fja ,soldiers and #bab1gdd ,marines4 ,broken down by component1 that included #dhj1hja ,soldiers in the ,active ,army1 #bje1cjj ,soldiers in the ,army ,reserve1 #cej1ejj ,soldiers in the ,army ,national ,guard1 #agb1icd ,marines in the ,active ,marine ,corps1 and #ci1haj ,marines in the ,marine ,corps ,reserve4 7#e7 ,at the height of the ,global ,war on ,terrorism1 the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states included #a1ach1ijg ,soldiers and #bdb1eeh ,marines4 ,broken down by component1 that included #egj1jjj ,soldiers in the ,active ,army1 #bjf1hib ,soldiers in the ,army ,reserve1 #cfb1jae ,soldiers in the ,army ,national ,guard1 #bjb1ghf ,marines in the ,active ,marine ,corps1 and #ci1ggb ,marines in the ,marine ,corps ,reserve4 7#f7 ,for fiscal year #bjaf1 authorizations for the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states include #a1jae1jjj ,soldiers and #bbb1ijj ,marines4 ,broken down by component1 that includes #dge1jjj ,soldiers in the ,active ,army1 #aih1jjj ,soldiers in the ,army ,reserve1 #cdb1jjj ,soldiers in the ,army ,national ,guard1 #ahd1jjj ,marines in the ,active ,marine ,corps1 and #ch1ijj ,marines in the ,marine ,corps ,reserve4 7#g7 ,the drawdown of the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states is planned to continue through fiscal year #bjah1 when end strength will be approximately #igj1jjj ,soldiers and #bbj1ejj ,marines4 ,broken down by component1 that will be #dej1jjj ,soldiers in the ,active ,army1 approximately #aie1jjj ,soldiers in the ,army ,reserve1 approximately #cce1jjj ,soldiers in the ,army ,national ,guard1 #ahb1jjj ,marines in ,active ,marine ,corps1 and #ch1ejj ,marines in the ,marine ,corps ,reserve4 7#h7 ,in ,europe1 forward-stationed ,army forces have been reduced from over #bae1jjj at the time of the fall of the ,berlin ,wall to the current level of under #cj1jjj1 jeopardizing the ,united ,states strategic capability to deter adversaries by conventional force and the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization's capability to rapidly respond to ,russian aggression against its front-line member states4 7#i7 ,the ,administration has enacted this policy of reducing the end strength of ,united ,states ,land ,forces based on security analysis and expectations of future force capabilities contained in the #bjab ,defense ,strategic ,guidance1 the #bjac ,strategic ,choices and ,management ,review 7,,scmr71 and the #bjad ,quadrennial ,defense ,review 7,,qdr71 which included the following3 7,a7 ,ending the wars in ,iraq and ,afghanistan by transitioning out of ,iraq and drawing down in ,afghanistan4 7,b7 ,building a closer relationship with ,russia and assuming that most ,european countries are now producers of security rather than consumers of it4 7,c7 ,no longer sizing ,united ,states ,armed ,forces to conduct large-scale1 prolonged stability operations4 7,d7 ,increasing reliance on our allies and partners to compensate for reductions in our capacity4 7,e7 ,emphasizing an ability to regenerate capabilities and the use of innovation and technology to compensate for a smaller force4 7#aj7 ,given developments over the past several years1 the assumptions about the security environment are outdated and1 unfortunately1 proven flawed4 7#aa7 ,the ,united ,states1 its allies1 and their partners face new threats1 including the following3 7,a7 ,a civil war in ,syria1 triggering a humanitarian crisis and destabilizing the entire region4 7,b7 ,the rise of the ,islamic ,state which has taken control of large swaths of territory in ,syria and ,iraq and has more ambitious global goals1 including stated intentions of additional direct attacks against the ,united ,states and ,united ,states allies1 both at home and abroad4 7,c7 ,iran1 which has continued its bellicose rhetoric and support for terrorist activities throughout the ,middle ,east4 7,d7 ,a resurgent ,russia that annexed ,crimea1 invaded ,ukraine1 and is now conducting military operations in ,syria1 with its posture and actions causing concern to ,,nato allies4 7,e7 ,the continued military build-up by ,china and its actions in the ,south ,china ,sea1 which have raised concerns among nations in the ,pacific and across the world4 7,f7 ,a provocative and unpredictable ,north ,korea that has escalated tensions throughout the ,pacific and beyond and expanded its nuclear capability4 7#ab7 ,in response to these developments1 short notice deployments of ,united ,states ,land ,forces have increased across the globe1 including the following3 7,a7 ,to address a resurgent ,russia1 the ,army deployed forces in various locations in ,eastern ,europe to assure ,,nato allies and to help train1 assist1 and assure their armed forces as well as sent forces to ,ukraine to train and equip their armed forces4 7,b7 ,to address the rise of the ,islamic ,state1 the ,army deployed forces to ,iraq to train and assist their armed forces4 7,c7 ,to address a resurgent ,taliban in ,afghanistan1 scheduled redeployments of ,united ,states ,land ,forces were altered and these forces are now expected to remain in ,afghanistan for the foreseeable future4 7,d7 ,to help stabilize troubled areas across the globe1 including ,southeast ,asia and ,africa1 the ,marine ,corps and ,army have deployed to conflict-scarred countries such as ,cambodia4 7,e7 ,to address unique threats and to build partner capacity across the globe1 ,united ,states ,joint ,special ,operations ,forces continue to constantly deploy worldwide4 7,f7 ,to address widespread and destabilizing natural disasters1 including the ,indian ,ocean earthquake and tsunami in #bjjd1 the earthquake in ,haiti in #bjaj1 the tsunami in ,japan in #bjaa1 the ,ebola outbreak in ,west ,africa in #bjad1 and the earthquake in ,nepal in #bjae1 the ,army and ,marine ,corps continue to deploy on short notice across the globe4 7#ac7 ,furthermore1 the assumptions about the future purpose1 use1 and capability of the ,land ,forces have also been disputed3 7,a7 ,the #bjad ,national ,defense ,panel concluded that the #bjad ,,qdr's reduction in ,army end strength goes too far44 7,b7 ,the ,national ,commission on the ,future of the ,army found the following3 7i7 ,because ,,pb#af 7,,fy#bjaf ,president's ,budget7 does not address the escalation of threats to global stability and national security1 it is1 at best1 on the low end of needed resources 7,page #dc74 7ii7 ''' this force size provides only limited ability to react to unforeseen circumstances 7,page #ea74 7iii7 ,using directed planning assumptions and with its planned fiscal year #bjag force1 the ,army is1 in fact1 neither sized nor shaped for conducting any kind of large-scale1 long-duration mission at acceptable risk 7,page #eb74 7#ad7 ,a comprehensive and holistic view of the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states is necessary4 ,in particular1 previous assumptions about the deployment and use of reserve components no longer apply4 ,for example1 more than #fjj1jjj members of the reserve components have been deployed since ,september #aa1 #bjja4 ,beyond these missions conducted pursuant to the authority of title #aj of the ,united ,states ,code1 these forces are also responsible for all homeland defense and critical defense support to civil authority missions under title #cb of the ,united ,states ,code during times of crisis response and natural disaster relief4 ,for these reasons1 the reserve components of the ,land ,forces are a critical piece to the overall mission of the total force4 7#ae7 ,finally1 senior leaders in the ,united ,states military have expressed concern regarding the current and future reductions in the end strength of the ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states1 including the following3 7,a7 ,then-,chairman of the ,joints ,chiefs of ,staff1 ,general ,martin ,dempsey1 wrote in his risk assessment accompanying the #bjad ,,qdr that the current defense strategy takes risk in the capacity of ''' land forces4 7,b7 ,the current ,chief of ,staff of the ,army1 ,general ,mark ,milley disputed many of the assumptions described in finding eight in an address before the ,association of the ,united ,states ,army1 including that wars of the future will be short1 wars can be won through the use of advanced technologies1 allies and partners can provide capable land forces in sufficient scale1 and armies are easy to regenerate4 7,c7 ,the current commander of ,united ,states ,european ,command1 ,general ,philip ,breedlove1 testified before the ,house ,appropriations ,committee's ,subcommittee on ,defense that virtual presence means actual absence4 ''' ,further reductions of both infrastructure and forces will reduce our access to key strategic locations during times of crisis4 7,d7 ,the former ,commandant of the ,marine ,corps1 ,general ,james ,amos1 testified at a hearing before the ,senate ,armed ,services ,committee that we are headed towards a force in not too many years that will be hollow back home and not ready to deploy ''' there would be no rotational relief like we had in ,iraq and ,afghanistan4 7,e7 ,the former commander of ,united ,states ,european ,command1 ,admiral ,james ,stavridis1 recently stated that we're still at war ''' actively involved on multiple continents in real combat operations4 ,we should not be drastically reducing our troop levels44 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,given the volatile1 uncertain1 and ambiguous world and the need for trained and ready ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states1 in conjunction with joint and multinational forces1 to deter threats1 shape the international security environment1 respond to emergent situations and crises1 and1 if necessary1 to fight and win the ,nation's wars1 it is the sense of ,congress that the planned drawdown of ,land ,forces should be immediately stopped4 #d4 ,fiscal year #bjaf end-strength levels for ,land ,forces of the ,united ,states 7a7 ,active forces 7#a7 ,army ,the authorized end strength for ,army active duty personnel as of ,september #cj1 #bjaf1 is #dhj1jjj4 7#b7 ,marine corps ,the authorized end strength for ,marine ,corps active duty personnel as of ,september #cj1 #bjaf1 is #ahd1jjj4 7b7 ,selected ,reserve 7#a7 ,army reserve components ,the authorized end strength for ,selected ,reserve personnel of the ,army reserve components as of ,september #cj1 #bjaf1 are as follows3 7,a7 ,the ,army ,national ,guard of the ,united ,states1 #cej1jjj4 7,b7 ,the ,army ,reserve1 #bje1jjj4 7#b7 ,marine corps reserve ,the authorized end strength for ,selected ,reserve personnel of the ,marine ,corps ,reserve as of ,september #cj1 #bjaf1 is #ch1ijj4 #e4 ,revision in permanent active duty end strength minimum levels ,section #fia7;b7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#d7 and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,for the ,army1 #dhj1jjj4 7#b7 ,for the ,navy1 #cbi1bjj4 7#c7 ,for the ,marine ,corps1 #ahd1jjj4 7#d7 ,for the ,air ,force1 #cag1jjj4 4 #f4 ,statement of policy ,it is policy of the ,united ,states to pursue and maintain peace through strength4 ,therefore1 any proposal to lower the end strength levels established by this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act must first be approved by ,congress through the enactment of a law to that effect4