UPDATED: 186 soldiers to be cut at Fort Rucker due to sequestration

For months Wiregrass residents have waited for the Department of the Army to announce how many positions at Fort Rucker would be done away with due to sequestration cuts.

The number was finally revealed July 9 by United States Rep. Martha Roby (R-Alabama) and the Department of the Army, and the home of Army Aviation escaped major position elimination. In total, 186 soldier positions will be phased out over a period of time between now and September 2017. An unspecified number of Department of the Army civilians will also be cut.

In total, Fort Rucker faces a 6 percent loss in personnel, much lower than the 40 percent numbers tossed around earlier this year.

While the Roby office stands behind the stance that one defense job is one loss to many, Communications Director Todd Stacy said other installations will suffer much deeper cuts. Fort Benning, located just outside of Columbus, Georgia, is reported to have 3,400 cuts looming. A total of 40,000 military-related positions will be eliminated nationwide.

“A six percent reduction at Fort Rucker is not nearly as devastating as the 40 percent cut some had projected,” Roby said. “And, as of right now, this won’t affect the aviation student load. Those are both positives. However, we don’t need to be cutting our force at all. We need to be growing and making sure our military has what it needs to meet global threats.”

At a special listening session in February, Brig. Gen. Roger Cloutier said as many as 2,500 positions could be eliminated at Fort Rucker. For the time being, it appears as if the home of Army Aviation, and the Wiregrass, has dodged a major blow.

More than 1,600 people crammed in to the For Rucker Post Theatre and adjacent buildings to take part in the listening session. Roby feels that outcry of support played a role in Fort Rucker not being cut more extensively.

“I appreciate the work of so many mayors and community leaders in the Wiregrass who rallied support for Fort Rucker as concerns grew about cuts,” Roby said. “Such a strong demonstration of support truly helps me make the case in Washington for protecting the critical mission at Fort Rucker. This fight is not over. If we don’t fix sequestration, the next round of cuts will be more harmful. I hope the shocking force reduction the Army is being forced to make nationwide serves as a wakeup call to Washington for the real world impact of these ill-conceived budget cuts.”

If current law budget caps, commonly referred to as sequestration, are not addressed, the Army end-strength will be further reduced to 420K Soldiers by FY2019.  This will result in a cumulative loss of 150K Soldiers from the Regular Army (or 26%) cut over a seven year period.  The resulting force would be incapable of simultaneously meeting current requirements and responding to the overseas contingency requirements of the combatant commands.