A Plan for a More Powerful Military That Costs Less

WASHINGTON – In October, the Army chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, said that because of budget cuts, only two of the Army’s 42 combat brigades were ready for battle. In November, he warned members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that if the nation had to fight in the near term, “it is unlikely that the Army would be able to defeat an adversary quickly and decisively.”