Nine company commanders are among 48 captains on active duty in Afghanistan that are slated to be fired under a Pentagon cost-cutting plan, officials said Thursday.
The disclosure about the company commanders — who each oversee dozens of U.S. forces and are responsible for executing the orders of the Army’s highest level generals — comes a day after military officials announced that 1,188 captains across the Army had been selected by a review board for “involuntary separation.”
The firings are part of a budget-reduction effort at the Pentagon, which plans to reduce the number of soldiers in the military service by 2019.
Col. Bruce Jenkins, deputy director of the Army’s Military Personnel Management Directorate said captains on active duty would leave the battlefield within 30 days of notification, though that timeframe would be extended to 90 days for company commanders because of their additional responsibilities. Pentagon officials said the notifications have already begun.
The move is not without controversy. Lawmakers have questioned the rationale behind firing experienced active-duty personnel deployed overseas, while questions persist about the effectiveness of Afghanistan’s nascent security forces.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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