scoone
01-29-2004, 08:50 AM
Wed January 28, 2004 10:43 PM ET
WASHINGTON (*******) - The U.S. Army, strained by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, will boost its forces by 30,000 through emergency authority it expects to last four years, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker told Congress on Wednesday.
But Schoomaker, testifying to the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, rejected calls from lawmakers for a permanent increase in forces, saying it would undermine efforts to streamline and modernize the Army.
"Right now, I've been given the authority by the secretary of defense to grow the Army by 30,000 people within the authority he has under the emergency powers," Schoomaker said. He said the authority from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was to last for four years.
Schoomaker also told lawmakers that the Army was drawing up plans for additional force rotations to keep large numbers of troops in Iraq into 2006.
This comes as the Army launches its biggest rotation of troops since World War II that will draw down forces in Iraq by this spring to 105,000 from about 130,000.
He said the rotation plans were intended to meet possible contingencies and that the White House would make all decisions on military involvement in Iraq.
The Army is already about 11,000 soldiers over the 482,000 troop limit authorized by Congress under the emergency provision the Pentagon invoked, largely through "stop-loss" orders that block soldiers from leaving or retiring and through re-enlistment incentives.
Schoomaker told reporters after the hearing the Army would move quickly to add nearly 20,000 more forces, saying, "We want to achieve it as quickly as we can."
He said money for the additional troops would come from the $87 billion emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan Congress passed in November.
Schoomaker said he wanted the additional troops to be incorporated into the Army's efforts to transform itself into a lighter, more mobile force for post-Cold War conflicts.
He rejected mounting demands from Republicans and Democrats in Congress to raise the Army's authorized troop levels, which he said would force the Army to expand permanently before it had made needed structural and operating changes.
"What I stress again is we should not make a commitment for a permanent end-strength (troop) increase at this time," Schoomaker said. He said that would result in the kind of bloated, poorly trained force that plagued the Army in the 1970s.
Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat, said the Pentagon seemed to be ducking its obvious need for more manpower in order to save money for the Bush administration's priorities, such as developing a missile defense system.
"We cannot put the strain on our military and on our American people just because we insist ideologically to keep the budget the way it is," Tauscher said. "My concern is that the Constitution says the Congress is the one that puts up the military. We need to be fully involved in this."
She is pushing legislation to increase the size of the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps for five years at an estimated cost of up to $4 billion.
http://www.*******.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UFWNPIBMRBZICCRBAEKSFFA?type=domesticNews&storyID=4234452
WASHINGTON (*******) - The U.S. Army, strained by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, will boost its forces by 30,000 through emergency authority it expects to last four years, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker told Congress on Wednesday.
But Schoomaker, testifying to the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, rejected calls from lawmakers for a permanent increase in forces, saying it would undermine efforts to streamline and modernize the Army.
"Right now, I've been given the authority by the secretary of defense to grow the Army by 30,000 people within the authority he has under the emergency powers," Schoomaker said. He said the authority from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was to last for four years.
Schoomaker also told lawmakers that the Army was drawing up plans for additional force rotations to keep large numbers of troops in Iraq into 2006.
This comes as the Army launches its biggest rotation of troops since World War II that will draw down forces in Iraq by this spring to 105,000 from about 130,000.
He said the rotation plans were intended to meet possible contingencies and that the White House would make all decisions on military involvement in Iraq.
The Army is already about 11,000 soldiers over the 482,000 troop limit authorized by Congress under the emergency provision the Pentagon invoked, largely through "stop-loss" orders that block soldiers from leaving or retiring and through re-enlistment incentives.
Schoomaker told reporters after the hearing the Army would move quickly to add nearly 20,000 more forces, saying, "We want to achieve it as quickly as we can."
He said money for the additional troops would come from the $87 billion emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan Congress passed in November.
Schoomaker said he wanted the additional troops to be incorporated into the Army's efforts to transform itself into a lighter, more mobile force for post-Cold War conflicts.
He rejected mounting demands from Republicans and Democrats in Congress to raise the Army's authorized troop levels, which he said would force the Army to expand permanently before it had made needed structural and operating changes.
"What I stress again is we should not make a commitment for a permanent end-strength (troop) increase at this time," Schoomaker said. He said that would result in the kind of bloated, poorly trained force that plagued the Army in the 1970s.
Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat, said the Pentagon seemed to be ducking its obvious need for more manpower in order to save money for the Bush administration's priorities, such as developing a missile defense system.
"We cannot put the strain on our military and on our American people just because we insist ideologically to keep the budget the way it is," Tauscher said. "My concern is that the Constitution says the Congress is the one that puts up the military. We need to be fully involved in this."
She is pushing legislation to increase the size of the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps for five years at an estimated cost of up to $4 billion.
http://www.*******.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UFWNPIBMRBZICCRBAEKSFFA?type=domesticNews&storyID=4234452