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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US Army 'to cut 40,000 troops by the end of 2017' | US Army 'to cut 40,000 troops by the end of 2017' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US Army is planning to reduce the size of its force by 40,000 soldiers over the next two years, according to US media reports. | The US Army is planning to reduce the size of its force by 40,000 soldiers over the next two years, according to US media reports. |
| The cost-cutting exercise will also see an additional 17,000 civilian employees cut from the army. | The cost-cutting exercise will also see an additional 17,000 civilian employees cut from the army. |
| The reported plan would see the US troop level drop to about 450,000 soldiers by the end of 2017. | The reported plan would see the US troop level drop to about 450,000 soldiers by the end of 2017. |
| The US army had about 570,000 troops in 2012 at the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. | The US army had about 570,000 troops in 2012 at the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| The army would have to cut a further 30,000 troops if automatic budget cuts known as sequestration come into effect in October, according to USA Today. | |
| Nearly 10,000 US troops still remain in Afghanistan after plans for a gradual withdrawal were delayed until 2016. | |
| In Iraq, nearly all US troops were withdrawn in 2010 when President Barack Obama ended combat operations. | |
| But there are about 3,500 military personnel there now to help Iraqi forces take on the Islamic State (IS) group. | |
| The planned army staffing levels would be the lowest since 1940, a year before the US entered World War Two, when it employed about 270,000 active-duty soldiers. | |
| A year before the 11 September 2001 attacks, the level was about 480,000. |