SeaPower - February 2007

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Hill Support Grows for More Troops
But Weapon Funding May Suffer

Senior lawmakers from both sides of the aisle plan to back Marine Corps and Army efforts to permanently boost the size of their forces — even if that comes at the expense of the services’ long-term technology transformation efforts.

Many lawmakers, including the chairmen of key congressional committees, said in recent weeks they are concerned about the effect a buildup of ground forces could have on the four services’ procurement accounts.

Substantial increases in troop strength would take years to accomplish and the long-term need is seen by many on Capitol Hill as an issue separate from the Jan. 10 call by President George W. Bush to quickly deploy an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.

For the longer term, the Army will need an additional 65,000 troops and the Marine Corps 27,000, according to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. The increases would bring the end-strength of the Marine Corps to 202,000, and the Army to 547,000.

But the issue of building a force of soldiers and Marines capable of meeting ongoing and future operational demands takes priority over buying weapons systems that will not be in the field for years to come, lawmakers said.

Indeed, several members have been pushing permanent increases for years, and say they wish the Defense Department had embarked on a widespread initiative to grow the Army and Marine Corps half a decade ago.

“It is time to [build up the Army and Marine Corps], and it will be expensive,” warned House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C.

U.S. MARINE CORPS

Sgt. Patrick M. Hakola, squad leader for 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, listens on his radio during a patrol through Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Congressional lawmakers have expressed support for calls to bolster Marine Corps and Army end-strengths.

The issue began to percolate late last year, when outgoing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker, who once bucked calls for permanent end-strength increases, announced that the service needs to augment its force by several thousand troops each year to meet continued operational demands.

The Army spends $1.2 billion in personnel costs for every 10,000 soldiers, not including unit training and equipping costs.

Spratt, a respected voice on defense issues and the vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he is worried about the second-degree budget