Congressman John Fleming, M.D. responds to the U.S. Army's announcement that it will cut 388 troops from Fort Polk as part of its plan to trim its ranks by 40,000 over the next two years due to the President's sequestration and military drawdown:
"Today's announcement could have been much worse, in light of the President's plan to reduce our military and strength by 40,000 troops. Retaining the 3/10 Brigade at Fort Polk is a win for Louisiana in the midst of devastating cuts by President Obama. While Fort Polk will be losing almost 400 soldiers, the cuts could have been in the thousands, mirroring the impact to other bases around the country. The support from Louisiana's local communities along with state and federal officials no doubt played a significant role convincing Army leaders of the value of Fort Polk.
"However, the President's plan to cut the military is far from finished. I, along with many of my Congressional colleagues, have been working to prevent these cuts. Unfortunately, even though both Senator Vitter and I offered amendments to preserve the current Army troop strength during consideration of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, we only could garner one Democrat vote.
"The Middle East is falling apart due to the President's premature withdrawal from Iraq and Russian aggression is on the rise even as we are reducing our Army forces in Europe. I will continue to advocate not just for growing Fort Polk, but also for strengthening our entire Army. Our national security depends on it."