Defense chief Carter visiting Fort Bragg as troop cuts loom

FORT BRAGG, NC (AP) — US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is visiting troops at Fort Bragg as the Army is downsizing.

Carter visits the sprawling Cumberland County post on Friday for a town hall-style discussion. He’s spending the day with soldiers training for their job as the country’s global military response force.

The Army announced plans Thursday to cut about 840 slots for soldiers at Fort Bragg, one of the lightest blows for a US installation. The Army is shrinking by 40,000 troops and more civilian workers by the end of 2017.

Fort Bragg is home to more than 10 percent of the Army’s roughly 490,000 soldiers.

Carter will be in Charlotte on Saturday to speak to the annual conference of the National Association of Counties.

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