Sequestration: Fort Knox Losing Only Combat Brigade

As military spending cuts continue, Kentucky’s Fort Knox will be losing the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. According to the Associated Press, this will make Fort Knox “the only Army post without a combat brigade.”

The loss of this brigade also means “a 43 percent cut to Fort Knox’s active duty force,” which is “far beyond the level of cuts elsewhere.”

In fact, the cuts are so drastic that Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno made sure to make reassurances that “the reduction was not the first step toward closing the post.”  

The 3rd Brigade has been at Fort Knox since 2009, and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear questioned how cutting it will save money, especially since “the Pentagon spent more than $500 million for new facilities” to bring the 3rd Brigade to Fort Knox in the first place.

These military spending cuts are part of the sequester cuts President Obama signed into law on August 2, 2011.

(Editor’s note: This post has been updated to correct an earlier version that attributed the story to Fox News rather than the Associated Press.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.