Individual Democratic Institutions Research Fellowships 1994-1996

The research reports reproduced here are the responsibility of the individual authors. Their reproduction does not imply any form of official or unofficial endorsement by NATO. The reports are offered in unedited form, as presented by their authors, with a view to make their findings available to a wide audience. The System of Social Support and Help to ex-officers and their families in Great Britain, the United States of America and Russia Antonina Dashkina [Back to Index] II. The American system of resettlement. A. The number of discharged military personnel According to the literature we have read, a total of 390,726 active duty personnel, both enlisted and officers, were to be cut from the armed forces from between 1990 and 1995; that is 19 percent of the 1990 force level. The largest reduction in a single year, 106,000 troops, was planned to occur in 1992. Originally, Congress required the Secretary of Defence to reduce active duty end strength (the number of active duty personnel at the end of the fiscal year) by at least 80,000 from 1990 to 1991. After Desert Storm, Congress removed the mandated reduction in 1991 military and strength. The Secretary stated, however, that forces were reduced by 45,477 in 1991. Thus, while personnel cuts were somewhat delayed, they would occur and they would be deep. Beyond 1995 the course is unclear. However, if present trends in security needs continue, deeper cuts in active duty forces may occur. Kauffman and Steinbruner suggest that an active duty force of 1,34 million is possible by 2001, given current trends. Achieving an end strength this low would require continued reductions of about 50,000 per year after 1995. While the overall reductions will be large, the proportion of involuntary separations will be relatively small, especially in the enlisted ranks. Even before Congress provided incentives to encourage more voluntary separations, involuntary separations were expected to amount to no more than about 20 percent of the overall reduction. In fact, fewer than 1,000 involuntary separations took place in fiscal year 1990, and fewer than 5,000 were anticipated for 1991. The largest number of involuntary separations, roughly 27,000, was expected to take place in fiscal year 1995 and the total number over fiscal years 1990 to 1995 was to be almost 100,000, comprising some 30,000 officers and 70,000 enlisted personnel.