US to add 30,000 people to armed forces
PLA Daily 2004-01-30
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has authorized the thinly-stretched US Army to temporarily exceed the limit by as much as 30,000, the Army's top general told Congress Wednesday.
Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee that the Army is already about 11,000 soldiers above the 482,400 limit set by Congress.
He said he had been given the authority by the secretary of defense to grow the Army by 30,000 people, meaning nearly 20,000 more forces would be added under the emergency provision, which he said would last four years.
The US Army is strained by its global presence, especially the ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the 105,000 troops who will replace the 130,000 servicemen in Iraq since the start of the war, about 80,000 are Army soldiers.
But Schoomaker rejected calls from lawmakers for a permanent expansion of the size of the Army, saying it would be too costly and inconsistent with Rumsfeld's goal of transforming the Army into a lighter but more lethal force.
"What I stress again is we should not make a commitment for a permanent end-strength increase at this time," Schoomaker said.
Some members of the House panel said they were surprised that Rumsfeld had authorized the Army to boost its forces by using emergency authority while publicly opposing a permanent increase.
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