While initial projections said Fort Eustis could potentially lose up to 4,200 positions in the coming years, Department of Defense officials have instead decided to cut 94.
The U.S. Army is working to cut 40,000 soldiers from its ranks by 2018, dropping the size of the regular army to 450,000 soldiers.
Community officials gathered at the Newport News army base in January to express concerns about how the loss of up to 4,200 people would affect the area. The actual cut is much smaller than what was initially projected.
The installation will lose an engineer diving team and a transportation detachment. The number of military and civilian positions at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command will be reduced. Civilian positions will also be reduced in the 93rd Signal Brigade.
The military decided to make the cuts after 18 months of analysis. Of the 30 military installations targeted for cuts, 27 will lose personnel. A news release from the U.S. Army notes the troop drawdown plan is flexible in case the military must respond to future contingencies.
The drawdowns are part of a plan to reshape the Army in the wake of decreased troop deployments to overseas locations like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rep. Rob Wittman (VA-1) said in a news release the drawdowns are “yet another example of the disastrous impacts of sequestration.”
“The uncertainties under sequestration mean that our budget is not in line with our military’s strategic needs,” he said. “We must ensure that Army force numbers reflect the dangers posed by threats around the world, from Russia and China to non-state actors such as ISIS.”
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