There will be a lot of Army talk going on at the Marriott Courtyard in Killeen this afternoon. The National Commission on the Future of the Army (NCFA) invites everybody out for an open meeting from 3 to 5 p.m. The topicis troop reduction.

The public can make oral comments, and/or provide written statements to the commission. They want to know your thoughts on the Army’s impact on our area.  Even if you don't say anything, it may be a good idea to go, because cuts are coming,.

 

USA Today reports the Army plans to cut 40 thousand troops from it’s workforce over the next two years.

 

 

The Killeen Daily Herald citing a Capitol Hill source says, those cuts will mean a 3350 troop loss for Fort Hood.  The KDH story goes on to say, The Army is expected to make an official announcement on the cuts soon, " which also indicated a reduction of as many as 17,000 Department of the Army civilian positions."

 

The army is making cuts, your two cents worth may have an impact on how Fort Hood is affected.

If you want to make a statement, you must sign up at the hotel, (1721 East Central Texas Expressway), before this afternoon’s meeting starts, or you can email Don Tison, the NCFA’s Designated Federal Officer, at: dfo.public@ncfa.ncr.gov.

Speakers time is first-come first-served, and the meeting is only two hours long. If you have something to say get there early and sign up. I know it is short notice.The NCFA press release did not go out until yesterday afternoon.

Written comments will be accepted at any time. Members of the public can leave comments for the commissioners at the meeting or via the NCFA website at: http://www.ncfa.ncr.gov/publicComments.

All speakers are asked to confine their remarks to addressing the criteria outlined below.

The NCFA has been charged by Congress to examine the structure of the Army and policy assumptions related to the size and force mix. The commission will make recommendations on "modifications to the structure of the Army based on current and anticipated mission requirements and acceptable levels of national risk consistent with available and anticipated future resources".

The commission will also specifically examine the transfer of Army National Guard AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from the Army National Guard to the Regular Army.

 

If there is time at today's meeting there, will be a discussion about the public comments.

 

 

 

 

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