The goal of this reduction - equivalent to nearly 5% of the total US Army workforce - is to focus on eliminating vacant positions, not active duty soldiers.

The US Army is “structurally too large” and does not have enough soldiers to fill existing units, the Telegraph reported on February 27, based on a document from the service about the downsizing.

Under the current plan, the Army is organized around a strength of 494,000, but currently has only 445,000 active-duty soldiers. Under the new plan, the goal is to recruit enough soldiers over the next five years to reach 470,000.

Documents obtained by the Telegraph say the cuts will only target vacant posts and no servicemen will be asked to leave the service.

A series of cuts were linked to the counterinsurgency campaign that erupted during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but are no longer relevant given today's threats.

About 3,000 of the positions to be cut are designated to Army special forces.

The Army also plans to add about 7,500 troops to other key missions such as air defense and counter-drone units, along with five new special operations forces with enhanced cyber, intelligence and long-range strike capabilities.

According to the Telegraph , the move to reduce the force reflects the fact that for many years, the US Army has been unable to recruit enough new recruits to fill thousands of vacant positions.

Christine Wormuth, the US Army secretary, said last year that the service had failed to meet its annual target for new contracts since 2014.

The Navy, Army, and Air Force all missed their recruiting goals last fiscal year. The Army recruited just over 50,000 recruits, falling short of its “ambitious goal” of 65,000.