Army Chief details major defense cuts

FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - In a quick stop at Fort Hood on Tuesday, Gen. Ray Odierno -- the U.S. Army's Chief of Staff -- fielded questions on a heavy topic: $1.2 trillion in cuts to defense spending.

"As we have budget cuts, we are going to reduce our capacity to respond,” Odierno said. “I think we'd completely have to re-look how we conduct security in our nation. We'll have to completely reconfigure our strategy."

Odierno, who testified before Congress about the matter, said without a deficit deal this move would leave the U.S. with its smallest Army since just before World War II – a 25 percent reduction.

"We'll have the smallest Army we've had since 1940,” he said. “We'll have the smallest Air Force we've ever had. We'll have the least number of ships we've had in a very, very long time."

The general said with troops transitioning out of Iraq and eventually Afghanistan, focus needs to shift to growing threats in North Korea and Iran, which would be a challenge with these cuts.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has called it the "doomsday" scenario. The idea has not only worried some about fewer soldiers but also more deployments and reduced pay and benefits.

The Pentagon will likely have to end most new programs, but Odierno said it is pledged to caring for those troops returning home from job assistance to health needs – especially those with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"We will ensure that those programs remain in place that are there in order to support all our soldiers and our families who have gone through numerous deployments to ensure that they have the care that's necessary,” he said. “We'll continue to fund those programs."

Still, there is some hope. Some analysts and lawmakers are seeking a solution before these cuts begin, but it is clear major changes of some sort are ahead for the nation's military.