Obama To The Pentagon

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta won't be the only one on the podium tomorrow morning briefing the press on the Obama administration's new "Defense Strategic Review." According to a just-released statement, the president will join Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.

The review "will guide our budget priorities and decisions going forward," the White House statement reads, adding:

The President's remarks come after a comprehensive review of our defense strategy by the President, America's civilian and uniformed military leadership, and the Administration's national security team.

InsideDefense.com reported earlier today that the Pentagon's fiscal year 2013 budget request would slash Marine Corps and Army end strength in conjunction with the new military strategy that urges cutting back on stability operations, but even deeper cuts to both ground services are expected in the coming years, according to sources familiar with the plans. Further:

The FY-13 budget request prepared in conjunction with the Obama administration's new military strategy would shrink the Marine Corps to 182,000, permitting the service to spread the reduction over four years, in part by relying on funds from the overseas contingency account, one service official said, noting the plan not only pares back force structure but also reduces the number of Marines in some units. The niche Marine Corps capability known as the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force would remain, as would the practice of having Marines guard U.S. embassies around the globe, the official said.

Meanwhile, the FY-13 budget request aims to cut Army end strength from a force of 570,000 today to roughly 480,000 to 490,000 within the five-year budget plan, said current and former military officials.

A government source familiar with the Defense Department's new strategy, which is intended to inform the Pentagon's investment decisions and global posture, said it contains strong language on curbing the sort of major stability operations that have been performed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey are scheduled to brief the strategy to reporters tomorrow.

Details of the strategy change were first reported by The New York Times.