Pentagon allows Army to temporarily beef up ranks
By Dave Moniz
USA Today
The Army’s top general said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, hoping to quiet critics in Congress, has given him the authority to temporarily increase the size of the Army by up to 30,000 troops until 2008.
Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army’s chief of staff, told the House Armed Services Committee that the temporary increase would ease strains caused by U.S.-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but not require the billions of dollars that a permanent troop increase would cost.
The move could help Rumsfeld deflect mounting pressure from Congress to permanently increase the size of the military, primarily the Army.
Rumsfeld has dismissed calls from lawmakers to boost the 1.2-million-member armed forces. He says it would be too expensive and the need for more troops could go away in the three to five years it would take to recruit new soldiers.
“The worst thing would be a forced end-strength increase,” Schoomaker said, using the Pentagon term for the size of the active-duty military.
Schoomaker said the Army has 500,000 soldiers in uniform, already nearly 20,000 more than Congress has authorized. The surplus is largely a result of a Pentagon policy known as “stop loss,” which prevents troops from leaving the service during wartime.
House Democrats introduced legislation last month to increase the Army by 40,000 troops, the Air Force by 28,000 and the Marines by 15,000.
Schoomaker acknowledged that the Army is under a severe strain because of the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he said the problem is temporary.
Michael O’Hanlon, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank in Washington, said that by agreeing to temporary increases, Rumsfeld has “partially conceded the point” that the military is too small.
One Army official with knowledge of the plan said it is a compromise by the Bush administration intended to address Congress’ concerns by adding troops in the short term without making a commitment to a long-term buildup.
Schoomaker also discussed likely changes that would free more Army troops for combat. They include trimming some headquarters around the country, reorganizing Army units to make them more efficient and transferring troops to new assignments less frequently to stabilize the force.
Because the active-duty Army is stretched, the Defense Department is relying more on the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
There are about 165,000 Army Guard and Army Reserve troops on active duty in the USA and overseas. By this spring, nearly 40 percent of U.S. forces in Iraq will be such part-time troops.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f...25-2598388.php
By Dave Moniz
USA Today
The Army’s top general said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, hoping to quiet critics in Congress, has given him the authority to temporarily increase the size of the Army by up to 30,000 troops until 2008.
Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army’s chief of staff, told the House Armed Services Committee that the temporary increase would ease strains caused by U.S.-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but not require the billions of dollars that a permanent troop increase would cost.
The move could help Rumsfeld deflect mounting pressure from Congress to permanently increase the size of the military, primarily the Army.
Rumsfeld has dismissed calls from lawmakers to boost the 1.2-million-member armed forces. He says it would be too expensive and the need for more troops could go away in the three to five years it would take to recruit new soldiers.
“The worst thing would be a forced end-strength increase,” Schoomaker said, using the Pentagon term for the size of the active-duty military.
Schoomaker said the Army has 500,000 soldiers in uniform, already nearly 20,000 more than Congress has authorized. The surplus is largely a result of a Pentagon policy known as “stop loss,” which prevents troops from leaving the service during wartime.
House Democrats introduced legislation last month to increase the Army by 40,000 troops, the Air Force by 28,000 and the Marines by 15,000.
Schoomaker acknowledged that the Army is under a severe strain because of the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he said the problem is temporary.
Michael O’Hanlon, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank in Washington, said that by agreeing to temporary increases, Rumsfeld has “partially conceded the point” that the military is too small.
One Army official with knowledge of the plan said it is a compromise by the Bush administration intended to address Congress’ concerns by adding troops in the short term without making a commitment to a long-term buildup.
Schoomaker also discussed likely changes that would free more Army troops for combat. They include trimming some headquarters around the country, reorganizing Army units to make them more efficient and transferring troops to new assignments less frequently to stabilize the force.
Because the active-duty Army is stretched, the Defense Department is relying more on the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
There are about 165,000 Army Guard and Army Reserve troops on active duty in the USA and overseas. By this spring, nearly 40 percent of U.S. forces in Iraq will be such part-time troops.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f...25-2598388.php
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