2014届高考英语考前突破阅读理解能力：国际时事要闻《美国陆军已开始“瘦身”计划》.docVIP

美国陆军已开始“瘦身”计划 During remarks at the Army Aviation Symposium in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 15, Cone quietly dropped a bomb. The Army, he said, is considering the feasibility of shrinking the size of the brigade combat team from about 4,000 soldiers to 3,000 over the coming years, and replacing the lost soldiers with robots and unmanned platforms. “美国陆军正朝着规模更小、作战能力更强、机动性更好、反应更敏捷的方向发展。”美国陆军训练与条令司令部司令罗伯特·科恩上将表示。至于其规模缩减的程度和方式，则令人颇感意外。 ? Ive got clear guidance to think about what if you could robotically perform some of the tasks in terms of maneuverability（机动性）, in terms of the future of the force, he said, adding that he also has clear guidance to rethink the size of the nine-man infantry squad. ?He mentioned using unmanned ground vehicles that would follow manned platforms, which would require less armor and protection, thereby reducing the weight of a brigade（旅，队列） combat team. ? Over the past 12 years of war, in favor of force protection weve sacrificed a lot of things, he said. I think weve also lost a lot in lethality. And the Army wants that maneuverability, deployability and firepower back. ? The Army is already on a path to shrink from 540,000 soldiers to about 490,000 by the end of 2015, and will likely slide further to 420,000 by 2019, according to reports. ? Cone said his staff is putting together an advisory panel to look at those issues, including fielding a smaller brigade. ? Dont you think 3,000 people is probably enough probably to get by with increased technological capabilities, he asked. ? Its hard to see such a radical change to the makeup of the brigage combat team as anything else than a budget move, borne out of the necessity of cutting the personnel costs that eat up almost half of the services total budget. ? Cone used the Navy as an example of what the Army is trying to do. ? When you see the success, frankly, that the Navy has had in terms of lowering the numbers of people on ships, are there functions in the brigade that we could automate -- rob