Jake Lowary

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The commander of one of the Army's most well-known divisions said Tuesday the division he commands needs to grow to meet the demand its faced with — and that requires money they've pulled away from infrastructure projects, civilian employee scheduling and other areas.

Three influential lawmakers toured the sprawling military installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border on Tuesday and said improvements to decades-old infrastructure could be on the way and reductions in military forces and civilian employees could be reversed by the Trump administration.

Republican U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Diane Black of Tennessee and Mac Thornberry of Texas toured Fort Campbell and met with 101st Airborne Division Commanding General Maj. Gen. Andrew Poppas. The general leads one of the top Army divisions, just a week after President Donald Trump pledged to boost military spending by $54 billion.

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The visit was the first since Trump's announcement as part of his address to Congress last week, and came as the administration pledged to offset the increases with cuts to other departments like the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department and elsewhere.

The military has downsized as involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan decreased and since the Budget Control Act of 2011 forced government-wide spending cuts that took effect in 2013, commonly known as "the sequester," which also forced a reduction in American troop strength by some 150,000.

The 2011 measure put troop strength at 450,000 but the reduction halted at 460,000 in December shortly after Trump was elected.

Defense officials have suggested a total military strength of 1.2 million service members across all branches, 490,000 of which is hoped to be from the Army, Poppas said.

Thornberry, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said part of the blame for the reductions and spending on military was the result of inaction in Washington several years ago when Democrats and Republicans stood wide apart over a battle to raise the debt ceiling.

"The Army has said they need to grow and I'm personally convinced that you've got to grow the size of the Army in order to catch up with readiness," he said.

Fort Campbell was spared from massive cuts after the sequester, but has seen two brigade-sized elements — about 6,000 soldiers — removed from the division's highest strength of more than 35,000 soldiers. That came at a time when it was believed that demand on military forces like those at Fort Campbell would go down, but Poppas said the demand has actually increased.

The installation is home to about 40,000 soldiers, and many are currently deployed to either Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq or Africa.

Poppas noted that Army leadership has said just three of the 58 brigades would be ready to deploy today. The 101st has been in a regular deployment rotation since 2001, and one of its brigades and the division command group recently returned from Iraq. Other units are scattered between Afghanistan, Africa and eastern Europe.

"The numbers to do what are being required have got to increase," he said. "In order to get ready for the fights that we have today, we have harvested money from infrastructure ... Some of our barracks are from the volunteer Army time of the 70s."

Poppas said the first priority, though, is "human capital" and regrowing the troop population. He hopes to regain those two brigades, and perhaps add another.

Blackburn said there's no firm number of how many soldiers will be added. Blackburn said the growth in the military will be "holistic" that focuses on manpower, equipment and facilities. "Let's do it the right way," she said. "Rather than pinning a number on the wall and say 'that's where we're going to stick it."

"You look at the numbers, what you want to do is make sure you get the right number, not necessarily it's got to be this or it's got to be that," Blackburn said.

The offsetting cuts Trump has proposed have drawn criticism from both budget-wary Republicans and Democrats. But the spending hikes are likely to be met with positive reception from communities like Clarksville and Hopkinsville, Ky., though both have weathered the years-long economic downturn with relative ease, adding jobs and continuing rapid growth.

There's no indication that a civilian worker hiring freeze will be lifted. Col. Rob Salome, garrison commander, said the installation has limited work schedules for civilian employees at places like the Post Exchange, a popular place for shopping for soldiers and family members.

The trio of lawmakers are influential in their roles to usher Trump's request through Congress. Black serves as House Budget Committee chair, and Thornberry chairs the House Armed Services Committee. Blackburn's congressional district includes a portion of Fort Campbell, but she's also been one of Trump's most supportive members of Congress.

The installation is also home to the 5th Special Forces Group, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and other smaller units, many of which are currently deployed to Europe, Afghanistan and Africa.

This story has been updated to clarify comments about the 101st Airborne's combat capability.

Jake Lowary covers Tennessee politics and state government for the USA Today Network. Reach him at 615-881-7039 or follow him on Twitter @JakeLowary.