"What we must do is keep the force we have ready," he added. As of March 31, the Army had 483,742 active-duty members, 187,260 reservists and 335,741 National Guard members. The 485,000 projected number marks a flattening of Army active-duty end strength and allows the service to focus on modernization of equipment and weapons and supporting ongoing operations in the Middle East and elsewhere, McConville said. "When you look at the levers, you have your readiness in your current operations, you have end strength and you have modernization," he said. "What we primarily are trying to do right now is fund that modernization." Fiscal 2022 Army budget discussions have been hampered by a delay in the release of the full federal budget: The Biden administration released a preliminary plan that calls for $1.5 trillion in spending, including $715 billion for the Defense Department, but details of the proposal have yet to be released.