Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Randy George told the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Army’s posture that the service’s Army Transformation Initiative, or ATI, would reduce overhead and civilian positions and redirect money to emerging war‑fighting priorities.

The initiative seeks to reallocate resources toward long‑range fires, air and missile defense, counter‑UAS and electronic warfare while working within an expected flat topline. Driscoll said the plan is intended to “make us into an army that is lean, agile, and relentlessly focused on empowering its soldiers.”

Committee members said the changes could be substantial and asked for detail on the implementation plan. The initiative, as described during the hearing, includes headquarters consolidations, business‑system modernization and reductions in civilian and headquarters personnel that officials said came from identifying redundancies. Ranking Member Senator Reid and others pressed Driscoll and George for the analysis behind the cuts and the timeline for execution.

“Cutting and consolidating headquarters. For instance, we're gonna reduce geo structure, cut 1,000 positions from our own staff here in DC,” Chief of Staff Randy George told the panel, describing one example of the proposed reductions. Driscoll acknowledged a larger civilian reduction figure discussed in the hearing—about 23,000 positions—and said leaders did not start from an arbitrary target but from examining duplicative functions.

Both witnesses asked for congressional partnership and for authorities that allow the Army to buy capabilities faster. Driscoll urged the committee to give the service “the flexibility to make decisions that keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology and the evolving nature of warfare,” while committing to oversight and to providing the analysis members requested.

Committee members also raised concerns about possible downstream effects on readiness and the defense industrial base if divestments proceed too fast. Senators asked for additional briefings and for data supporting the projected savings and the effects on specific missions.

If formally adopted, some aspects of the initiative would rely on budget decisions still pending in the Department of Defense. Driscoll and George said further details and implementation schedules will be provided as planning continues and requested follow‑up sessions with the committee.

Ending: The witnesses left the committee with a pledge to return with more detailed implementation plans and analyses. Several senators said they would schedule follow‑up meetings to examine the data behind workforce and headquarters cuts before Congress considers related appropriations or statutory changes.