Pentagon budget cuts were already expected to slash the Marine Corps from roughly 202,000 troops down to 186,000 troops by the end of 2014 - and the new Defense Department strategy announced yesterday could drop that number even lower to 175,000, according to the North County Times.
John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org told the North County Times the cuts will bring the Marine Corps back to the size it was before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Yesterday President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced a new defense strategy that includes more of a focus on China, North Korean, and Iran ' and less attention on the kind of ground wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A spokesman at Camp Pendleton would not comment to the NC Times on the impact of defense cuts to the base.
