30,000 More Soldiers Approved by Rumsfeld

Washington Post ^ | 01/29/04 | Bradley Graham

[Pokey78]

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, invoking emergency powers, has authorized the Army to grow temporarily by 30,000 troops above its congressionally approved limit of 482,000 to facilitate a restructuring of forces severely strained by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and counterterrorism missions elsewhere.

The increase, disclosed yesterday in congressional testimony by Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, surprised members of the House Armed Services Committee, many of whom have been pressing for a larger Army.

Rumsfeld has resisted a permanent increase for months, arguing that a number of efficiency measures and restructuring moves could alleviate some of the stress on U.S. forces. But his approval of a temporary rise -- which does not require congressional action and which Schoomaker said would probably be needed for four years -- appeared to acknowledge that some relief is needed.

[Pukin Dog]

Hey Congress, in case you missed it, Rummy does what he does when he damn well pleases. NOT when you say so. Get it?

[lepton]

About time...

[mark502inf]

Great news!

[MEG33]

Looks like Rummy has changed his mind.

[dts32041]

One division worth of troops, of course we won't be creating or reactivating a new division have a feeling most will be MP's and special Ops types, they seem the most effective for what we are doing.

[Calpernia]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1067224/posts

[armymarinemom]

Great news, and about time!

[MEG33]

I notice this is temporary rather than the permanent increase the Congress wanted.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Artillery, armor units training to deploy as MPs

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Since being recalled from retirement to take command of the Army six months ago, Schoomaker has made restructuring a top priority. His plan envisions keeping 10 active-duty divisions but expanding the number of brigades from 33 to 48, in part by reassigning soldiers from air defense, artillery and other support groups to military police, civil affairs, transportation, medical, engineering and other units with types of skills now in greater demand.

Additionally, he estimated that 10,000 soldiers now performing noncombat tasks can be freed for fighting by transferring their jobs to civilians. And he cited plans to shift some military police, civil affairs and port-opening units from reservist to active-duty ranks.

Sounds like the Army is getting out of the killing people and breaking things business to better deliver the pizza on UN Meals On Wheels missions.

[Belisaurius]

Sounds to me like the Army is beefing up it's ability to control areas it occupies after it kills people and breaks things...but maybe that's just me.

[Dave Elias]

Ah don't ya just love democracy!

[My Dog Likes Me]

No, no.
Read the latest Newsweek.
The Army captain in Iraq gets ticked-off that Iraqi "contractors" are fixing a roof (or something) in his compound. He thinks they may have been passing on intell to bad guys.

So, please folks. There's a reason that an MOS or AFSC (these are occupational codes) exists for uniformed cooks and carpenters in our military. For one, they are American fighting men. We can't outsource these jobs to the locals in this crazed part of the world. If this is an example of transformation, then we're all done.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

There is a ratio of one civilian contractor for every ten soldiers in Iraq right now. Combat service support soldiers used to be available in emergencies to take up weapons and contribute to the defense of a position. The trend now seems to be to civilianize as much CSS as possible. I guess they figure there won't be any more emergencies.

A whole lot of Army transformation is predicated on an unprecedented level of cooperation from our potential adversaries.

[TexKat]

Thanks for the ping MEG33.

[My Dog Likes Me]

Yes, you're right.
Army manpower policy seems to be stuck in a world of 1990's era civilianized downsizing efforts.
I simply cannot understand this crap.

[My Dog Likes Me]

Yes, you're right.
Army manpower policy seems to be stuck in a world of 1990's era civilianized downsizing efforts.
I simply cannot understand this crap.