With bigger US army, a bigger task for recruiters

[TexasLawyer]

With bigger US army, a bigger task for recruiters

By Damien Cave and Thom Shanker
Published: December 23, 2006
International Herald Tribune

<snip>

Pentagon civilian officials and military officers said that few were envisioning a large, rapid growth that would require the Army to dust off emergency mobilization plans for reopening bases or drawing in National Guard equipment.

Instead, civilian and military officials said, they are drawing up tentative proposals that would make permanent the 30,000-troop temporary increase approved by Congress after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and then add 30,000 more troops to the Army over the next five years, resulting in an active-duty Army with 542,400 soldiers by 2012.

Expanding the nation's ground forces is expensive; every 10,000 new soldiers add about $1.2 billion in personnel costs to the Pentagon's annual budget. On top of that, equipment for 10,000 new troops would cost an additional $2 billion, according to Army statistics.

The study of how to expand the ground forces comes at a time of other financial strains. Army officials have told Congress that the service was $56 billion short in its equipment budget before the war in Iraq, and now requires an extra $14 billion annually just to repair and replace equipment worn or destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/23/america/web.1223recruit.php

[Wapsie B]

1. Well goodness gracious

we're just going to have to siphon $$ off more of those evil social programs. Freedom Isn't Free! :sarcasm:

[napi21]

2. How in the world would the US afford to do all of this?

Coupled with having to replace most of the equipment that has been destroyed in Iraq and Afghan?Even if we weren't in Iraq, I just don't see it happening!