McCain: Bigger force is top defense priority

[unhappycamper]

Sen. John McCain told Military Times editors Oct. 15 that increasing the size of U.S. ground forces “is something we should have done long ago" and would be a top priortity (sic) of his if he is elected president.



McCain: Bigger force is top defense priority
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 15, 2007 17:42:22 EDT

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Monday that one of his top priorities if elected president would be increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps.

In an interview with Military Times editors and reporters, McCain said he was “not a detailed numbers person” and was not fixed on specific figures for the size of the increases in those services, which are already trying to expand under recently approved plans.

He did say, however, that the services bearing the brunt of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should be “a hell of a lot bigger than they are now.”

“One of the major failures of the Rumsfeld era is that we didn’t expand the Army and Marine Corps,” McCain said. Too-small ground forces and miscalculations about what a war in Iraq would entail have led to a strain all-volunteer force, particularly on the National Guard and reserve, that is “not sustainable,” he said.

The size of the Navy and Air Force, which are seeking to get smaller, are not on McCain’s agenda. “I am not as worried about that,” he said.

Increasing ground troops, he said, “is something we should have done long ago. We are going to be in Afghanistan for a long time, and I don’t know what other conflicts may break out.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_mccain_071015w/



on edit to add:

Navy Times headline for this story: McCain lambastes DoD for force sizes, LCS
Marine Corps Times: same headline
Air Force Times: same headline

[droidamus2]

1. yeah right...

Just how much money did McCain receive from the military-industrial complex to make that statement. Why is it we always seem to be preparing for war instead of working for peace?

[NYVet]

2. Because the world expects us to be the ones to do something

about places like Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, etc...