Baku, September 29 (AZERTAC). They call it “star creep.” As the military downsized after the Cold War, the ratio of general and flag officers to lower ranking personnel grew. Now, in the face of at least $350 billion in cuts to national security spending over the next decade and criticism of a top-heavy force, the Pentagon is culling its highest billets.

By the end of 2014, 103 general and flag officer positions will be eliminated, according to Senate testimony this month by senior military representatives.

The overall size of the Army and Marine Corps swelled in the last decade to meet the demands of ground combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the twilight of those conflicts, both services are planning to reduce their numbers through attrition. The Navy and Air Force, meanwhile, are forcing some into early retirement.

What`s more, if a plan in the works by a congressional deficit-reduction “supercommittee” fails, triggering an additional $600 billion-slice out of Pentagon spending, the military may be forced to scale back by about 200,000 soldiers and Marines, according to an analysis released Friday by the House Armed Services Committee.

Amid these personnel changes and budget strains, where do the armed forces stand on the “star creep” continuum?

The smallest branch, the Marine Corps, has the leanest proportion of general officers. The service has 88 one- through four-star generals among about 201,633 active duty Marines, said Maj. Shawn Haney, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs. That works out to 4.4 per 10,000, or .044 percent, in the general officer ranks.

At a Sept. 14 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on personnel issues, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the former Camp Pendleton-based commander who is now assistant commandant of the Marines, said the Corps plans to cut five general officer positions assigned to the joint staff by 2015.

The Defense Department service with the largest proportion of general or flag officers is the Air Force, according to the latest available figures. The Air Force now has 300 general officer positions, Pentagon-based public affairs staff reported. That means 9.1 per 10,000, or .091 percent, of the active duty Air Force of about 329,285 falls in the general officer ranks.

The Air Force plans to eliminate 39 general officer positions, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove told the Senate subcommittee.

Next highest is the Navy. The sea service has 234 flag officers among its active duty force of about 327,137, said Lt. Cmdr. Alana Garas, a spokeswoman for the Navy`s Chief of Information. That amounts to 7.2 per 10,000, or .072 percent.

The Navy downgraded 50 flag officer positions to senior civilian billets and will eliminate 25 more, Adm. Mark E. Ferguson III told the Senate.

The Army ratio of general officers to active duty personnel is about 5.6 per 10,000, or .056 percent, based on 322 general officers out of 570,390.

The Army plans to bring its general officer pool back to 1995-2008 levels by cutting 31 general officer positions by 2014, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli told the Senate.

"The average general and admiral has nearly 500 fewer uniformed personnel under their command today than they did in 1991," said Ben Freeman, of the Project on Government Oversight, testifying at the hearing.

After the Cold War the overall size of the military contracted about 30 percent, but the number of flag and general officers fell only 15 percent, he said.