Hagel to propose big cuts in Army in 2015 budget

A U.S. official says that as part of the proposed 2015 defense budget, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel is recommending shrinking the Army to its smallest size in decades.

Hagel is expected to announce that and other recommendations Monday in a speech at the Pentagon outlining his priorities for next year’s defense budget.

Army leaders have been saying for months that they expected to absorb additional troop reductions as the nation prepares to end its combat role in Afghanistan this year. The Army is already scheduled to shrink to 490,000 active-duty members from a wartime peak of 570,000. Hagel is expected to propose cutting it further to between 440,000 and 450,000.

That’s according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to be identified discussing the proposals before Hagel’s speech.