纽约时报中文网 - 英文原版-英Army Is Slashing Thousands of Jobs to Focus on Russia and China
February 28, 2024 2 min 297 words
这则报道揭示了英国军方为应对当前国际格局而采取的战略性裁员举措。裁员的目标明确，即集中力量在应对俄中崛起的挑战上。这一决策凸显了军事战略的调整，紧密关注世界舞台上的两大力量。然而，这也引发了一系列讨论，包括对军队实力的担忧以及是否在维护全球安全方面采取更多多元化的行动。英军必须在精简部队的同时确保在其他地区的应对能力。这一决策将在未来影响英国的地缘政治地位，需要综合考虑各种因素，确保国家安全不受影响。
The U.S. Army is cutting 24,000 positions as the Pentagon continues to shift its priority to countering Chinese and Russian military might after two decades of focusing on the fight against terrorism, according to a new Army document.
The cuts are in line with the national defense strategy begun by President Donald J. Trump and largely endorsed by the Biden administration that emphasizes rising threats to the United States from an emboldened Russia and China.
Army numbers swelled to almost 600,000 during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the end of those conflicts has contributed to a steady decrease as soldiers returned to the garrison.
The job cuts, reported earlier by The Associated Press, also implicitly acknowledge the recruiting woes that have plagued the Army — and indeed, other military services — in recent years. The Army, the Navy and the Air Force failed to meet recruiting goals last year. Army officials have been traveling to college campuses in urban areas to try to tap into underrepresented communities for recruits.
The new document says the cuts will “allow the Army to narrow the gap between force structure, which was designed to accommodate 494,000 soldiers, and current active-duty end strength, which is set by law at 445,000.” The goal now, according to the document, will be to bring an Army end strength of 470,000.
Defense Department officials say that several issues have hobbled recruitment. The percentage of young Americans who qualify, and are interested, in military service has dropped, they note. A low unemployment rate has also meant that young people have other options.