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TechnographArmy wants to spend $3 billion to speed up relief expansion
By Robert Burns, The Associated Press
Posted: 9/27/07 Section: News
WASHINGTON - The Army, stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wants to spend nearly $3 billion extra to accelerate its expansion of the active-duty force, Army Secretary Pete Geren said Thursday.
Geren said he has discussed the proposal with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and expects a decision soon.
Speeding up the expansion would mean recruiting faster and increasing the number of soldiers who re-enlist, he said.
In an interview with a group of reporters, Geren also said it was possible that even while five Army combat brigades are withdrawn from Iraq between December and July, the number of non-combat troops there could stay the same or even increase. He stressed that he was not predicting any particular level of support forces in Iraq in 2008 but also was not assuming the number would be lower by then.
It has generally been assumed that the number of support troops in Iraq would decline next year as part of the plan announced by President Bush earlier this month to withdraw five combat brigades by July.
Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that commanders in Iraq have not yet worked out in detail what portion of the support force will be pulled out next year. He mentioned, as one example, that an Army helicopter unit might remain. In all, about 8,000 extra support troops were sent in the first half of the year as part of a troop buildup in Baghdad and Anbar province.
Among the issues still on the table, Geren said, is this: Would a reduction in the number of combat brigades mean more need or less need for troops performing support functions like training the Iraqi army and police?
"That's a possibility," he said. "I'm not saying it's a likelihood."
Because of that uncertainty, among others, it is not possible to know yet how soon the Army will be in position to shorten Iraq deployments to 12 months, Geren said. Tours were increased to 15 months in January in order to enable commanders to maintain a higher level of forces in Iraq until next spring.
Geren said he has discussed the proposal with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and expects a decision soon.
Speeding up the expansion would mean recruiting faster and increasing the number of soldiers who re-enlist, he said.
In an interview with a group of reporters, Geren also said it was possible that even while five Army combat brigades are withdrawn from Iraq between December and July, the number of non-combat troops there could stay the same or even increase. He stressed that he was not predicting any particular level of support forces in Iraq in 2008 but also was not assuming the number would be lower by then.
It has generally been assumed that the number of support troops in Iraq would decline next year as part of the plan announced by President Bush earlier this month to withdraw five combat brigades by July.
Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that commanders in Iraq have not yet worked out in detail what portion of the support force will be pulled out next year. He mentioned, as one example, that an Army helicopter unit might remain. In all, about 8,000 extra support troops were sent in the first half of the year as part of a troop buildup in Baghdad and Anbar province.
Among the issues still on the table, Geren said, is this: Would a reduction in the number of combat brigades mean more need or less need for troops performing support functions like training the Iraqi army and police?
"That's a possibility," he said. "I'm not saying it's a likelihood."
Because of that uncertainty, among others, it is not possible to know yet how soon the Army will be in position to shorten Iraq deployments to 12 months, Geren said. Tours were increased to 15 months in January in order to enable commanders to maintain a higher level of forces in Iraq until next spring.
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