<http://www.signonsandiego.com/photos/2011/sep/27/456173/> Air Force Vice
Chief of Staff Gen. Phil Breedlove (right) answers a question about general
officer and senior executive service authorizations in the military Sept.
14, 2011, in Washington, D.C., during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services
Committee's Subcommittee on Personnel. Also pictured is Assistant Commandant
of the Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr.


Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Phil Breedlove (right) answers a question
about general officer and senior executive service authorizations in the
military Sept. 14, 2011, in Washington, D.C., during a hearing of the Senate
Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Personnel. Also pictured is
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr. Jim
Varhegyi - U.S. Air Force


They call it "star creep." As the military downsized after the Cold War, the
ratio of general and flag officers to lower ranking personnel grew. Now, in
the face of at least $350 billion in cuts to national security spending over
the next decade and criticism of a top-heavy force, the Pentagon is culling
its highest billets.

By the end of 2014, 103 general and flag officer positions will be
eliminated, according to Senate testimony this month by senior military
representatives.

The overall size of the Army and Marine Corps swelled in the last decade to
meet the demands of ground combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. In
the twilight of those conflicts, both services are planning to reduce their
numbers through attrition. The Navy and Air Force, meanwhile, are forcing
some into early retirement.

What's more, if a plan in the works by a congressional deficit-reduction
"super-committee" fails, triggering an additional $600 billion-slice out of
Pentagon spending, the military may be forced to scale back by about 200,000
soldiers and Marines, according to an analysis released Friday by the House
Armed Services Committee.

Amid these personnel changes and budget strains, where do the armed forces
stand on the "star creep" continuum?

The smallest branch, the Marine Corps, has the leanest proportion of general
officers. The service has 88 one- through four-star generals among about
201,633 active duty Marines, said Maj. Shawn Haney, a spokeswoman for Marine
Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs. That works out to 4.4 per 10,000, or
.044 percent, in the general officer ranks.

At a Sept. 14 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on personnel issues,
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the former Camp Pendleton-based commander who is
now assistant commandant of the Marines, said the Corps plans to cut five
general officer positions assigned to the joint staff by 2015.

The Defense Department service with the largest proportion of general or
flag officers is the Air Force, according to the latest available figures.
The Air Force now has 300 general officer positions, Pentagon-based public
affairs staff reported. That means 9.1 per 10,000, or .091 percent, of the
active duty Air Force of about 329,285 falls in the general officer ranks.

The Air Force plans to eliminate 39 general officer positions, Gen. Philip
M. Breedlove told the Senate subcommittee.

Next highest is the Navy. The sea service has 234 flag officers among its
active duty force of about 327,137, said Lt. Cmdr. Alana Garas, a
spokeswoman for the Navy's Chief of Information. That amounts to 7.2 per
10,000, or .072 percent.

The Navy downgraded 50 flag officer positions to senior civilian billets and
will eliminate 25 more, Adm. Mark E. Ferguson III told the Senate.

The Army ratio of general officers to active duty personnel is about 5.6 per
10,000, or .056 percent, based on 322 general officers out of 570,390.

The Army plans to bring its general officer pool back to 1995-2008 levels by
cutting 31 general officer positions by 2014, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli told
the Senate.

"The average general and admiral has nearly 500 fewer uniformed personnel
under their command today than they did in 1991," said Ben Freeman, of the
Project on Government Oversight, testifying at the hearing.

After the Cold War the overall size of the military contracted about 30
percent, but the number of flag and general officers fell only 15 percent,
he said.

gretel.kovach@...; (619) 293-1293; Facebook page: SDUT Military;
Twitter @gckovach

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