The reductions will primarily occur in vacant positions, particularly those related to counterinsurgency roles, which were prominent during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts but are less relevant today. The Army will also downsize special operations forces by about 3,000.

Simultaneously, the restructuring will allocate about 7,500 troops to crucial missions like air defense, counter-drone capabilities, and the establishment of five new task forces worldwide with upgraded cyber, intelligence, and long-range strike capabilities.

U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and General Randy George emphasized the strategic repositioning away from counterinsurgency towards large-scale combat readiness, identifying and trimming unnecessary force structures accordingly.

An Army document underlines that the service is currently “significantly overstructured” and is struggling to fill existing units. These changes are a response to the reality that the Army hasn't been able to staff thousands of open positions.

The target now is to increase the number of active-duty soldiers from about 445,000 to 470,000 within five years.

This overhaul marks a significant shift as the Army gears towards confronting technologically advanced adversaries. However, it also underscores the challenges all military branches face in recruitment.

In fiscal year 2022, the Navy, Army, and Air Force fell short of their recruitment goals. The Army, for instance, recruited just over 50,000, missing its target by 15,000.

In response, the Army has overhauled its recruitment strategy to appeal to college-educated or early-career job hunters and is creating a professional force of recruiters. The change acknowledges that the recruitment challenge isn’t a recent one, with the Army missing its annual recruitment goal since 2014, Christine Wormuth said.