The Army is grappling with a sudden budget crunch and scrambling to slash training costs across broad swaths of the force, according to internal documents reviewed by ABC News and multiple U.S. officials.<\/p>\n
The move is to make up for a shortfall of some $4 billion to $6 billion, according to one of the officials, as the service has drastically expanded its operational footprint at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
The cuts, which range from elite schools to unit-level training, have triggered a wave of abrupt cancellations and unusually aggressive spending scrutiny months before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.<\/p>\n
![\"colonel\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/3b673bb6-b997-4bf4-83c5-83b7bb5f9137\/hegseth-11-rt-gmh-260512_1778599052837_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"colonel\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Secretary of War Pete Hegseth prepares to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the FY2027 budget request on Capitol Hill, May 12, 2026 in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The service’s multibillion-dollar shortfall is the product of a widening set of operational demands and rising costs across the force.<\/p>\n Major drivers, a U.S. official noted, have been costs associated with the Iran war and an expanding mission securing the southern U.S. border.<\/p>\n Additionally, expansive National Guard missions, including the ongoing deployment in Washington, D.C., which alone is projected to cost roughly $1.1 billion<\/a> this year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.<\/p>\n At the same time, the service is absorbing ballooning personnel expenses and stepping in to cover missions tied to Department of Homeland Security funding lapses, including at the southern border and construction projects. The Army is expected to be reimbursed for covering down for some of DHS’ expenses incurred during the record 76-day DHS shutdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Army’s III Armored Corps, an umbrella of the Army’s heavy armor and cavalry units, is expected to bear a lot of the brunt, a document outlining projections to units on consequences of funding cuts shows.<\/p>\n That internal plan warns that the corps’ aviation units will deploy next year at “a lower state of readiness,” and “career stagnation” of mid-level officers who would oversee key training events and noted it would take a full year for units to rebuild “combat proficiency.”<\/p>\n The corps commands some 70,000 soldiers representing nearly half of the service’s combat power.<\/p>\n Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 82nd Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division artillery lookout atop a M109 A7 Paladin self propelled Howitzer during live fire training on April 29, 2026, in Fort Hood, Texas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Brandon Bell\/Getty Images, FILE<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The reductions there include slashing roughly half of the formation’s budget and gutting pilots’ flight hours down to minimum mandatory levels.<\/p>\n![\"fight](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2a90f2cd-b273-4172-afc6-00b372806da7\/fort-hood-02-gty-jt-260512_1778627045788_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"fight")
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![\"Fort](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2bbe2018-32fe-44b6-b33a-2ac8bc89bfbd\/fort-hood-tank-gty-jt-260512_1778627153771_hpMain_16x9t.jpg?w=375 "\\"Fort")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>![\"PHOTO:](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/d48a05af-8b58-4d8a-abda-34d78b2046c7\/barbara-mccollum-ap-jt-260512_1778627319779_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=375)
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