Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The Army is reorganizing the National Guard but not cutting any troops, the civilian chief of the Army said Wednesday. "There is not going to be any reduction in the National Guard. Overall, the Army (and)... the active Guard and Reserve overall -- the military capability will continue to grow," said Army Secretary Francis Harvey. Media reports in December about plans to cut between 25,000 and 30,000 Guard troops to save money for the Army engendered strong protests from Capitol Hill and state governors. About a quarter of Army troops serving in Iraq are from...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will nominate defense industry veteran Francis Harvey to be secretary of the Army, a service grappling with the Iraqi prison abuse scandal and extended troop deployments in Iraq, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. Harvey was recommended to the White House by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. If confirmed by the Senate, he would take over for Les Brownlee, who has served as acting Army secretary since Thomas White quit abruptly in April. A former executive at Westinghouse Electric Corp., Harvey was nominated last November to be an assistant secretary of defense to oversee the military's...