Military

Outgoing Army secretary warns of perilous future

The Army currently has deployed roughly 180,000 soldiers supporting combatant command requirements in 140 locations worldwide, but those figures belie a grimmer picture. Readiness levels now hover around 30 percent instead of the standard 60 percent or more, and the budget already has seen 17 percent in cuts with more potentially coming, McHugh noted.

The result is an uncertain future for the Army — a future that could provide critical U.S. capabilities, or one that is "much darker, more dangerous…based on ill-conceived notions on the nature of war," he said.