White Sands Missile Range to lose hundreds of military positions

National cuts in the U.S. Army will have a significant impact on military positions at White Sands Missile Range.

A spokeswoman for WSMR told ABC-7 they will lose 535 military positions.

“One thing we want to make sure we never lose sight of is the important and vital mission these soldiers do for our army and for our nation,” said Brigadier Gen. Gwen Bingham, the commanding general at WSMR.

Part of the losses will include the Second Engineer Battalion, the only active duty deployable army troops in New Mexico.

The battalion is made up of five companies that will be relocated or inactivated.

Bingham said this could happen as soon as next year.

“Right now we’re expecting to lose the Second Engineer Battalion in the fiscal year of 2017. If additional cuts are taken because sequestration continues that rate of loss could be accelerated to as early as fiscal year ’14 or fiscal year ’15,” she said.