ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Army Secretary John McHugh is participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to mark the U.S. Army’s 237th birthday.

Thursday morning’s ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

The Army traces its roots to June 14, 1775, before the Declaration of Independence, when the Continental Congress authorized creation of a Continental Army just days before the battle of Bunker Hill.

The Army is now in the midst of plans to reduce its active duty forces from a peak of about 570,000 at the height of the Iraq war to 490,000 by 2017.

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