Vt.’s senators disappointed by National Guard cuts

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont’s two United States senators are expressing displeasure and concern over proposed cut to the National Guard.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, co-chair of the Senate National Guard Caucus, says any planned long-term cut to Army National Guard “guts our citizen-soldier force.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders told WPTZ in a statement (https://bit.ly/1bGXhUY) “we should be growing - rather than shrinking - the National Guard” because of its cost-efficiency.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel proposed shrinking the Army to pre-WWII levels, closing military bases and making other military-wide savings Monday as part of a broad reshaping of priorities.

Hagel says the military must adjust to the reality of smaller budgets, even as the United States faces a more volatile, more unpredictable world that requires a more nimble military.