KEY POINTS:
United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates called yesterday for a permanent boost in the size of the Army and Marine Corps, the military branches most strained by Iraq, at a likely cost of US$15 billion ($22.12 billion) a year.
Gates recommended President George W. Bush add 92,000 troops to the two services over five years, bringing the Army to 547,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps to 202,000. He also said the Pentagon would not be able to meet its goal of giving every reserve unit five years at home for every year spent deployed, for the moment.
Gates said the increase was needed for the long-term fight against terrorism. "The emphasis will be on increasing combat capability," he told a White House news conference to discuss Bush's new plan for the Iraq war.
"We should recognise that while it may take some time for these troops to become available for deployment, it is important that our men and woman in uniform know that additional manpower and resources are on the way."
Bush said on Thursday that he would send 21,500 additional US troops into the most violent areas of Iraq - Baghdad and Anbar - to establish security and improve training of Iraqi forces. There are now about 130,000 US troops in Iraq.
Defence officials have long said a permanent increase to the Army and Marine Corps was needed to cope with increased strains from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and globally.
"These increases are long overdue, because US ground forces are stretched in Iraq to a degree where they could not cope with emergencies elsewhere," said Loren Thompson, defence analyst at the Lexington Institute. "By adding troops, it will be possible not only to cover the world more effectively, but to give war-fighters much needed training in foreign languages, counter-insurgency, and the like," he said.
Gates proposed adding 65,000 troops to the Army and 27,000 to the Marine Corps, to be implemented in two steps.
First, temporary increases of 30,000 soldiers and 5000 Marines would be made permanent. Then troops would be added annually over five years to reach the targeted totals.
The bill for such a 92,000-troop increase would add billions of dollars a year to the annual defence budget.
The Army says every 10,000 troops costs US$1.2 billion for salaries and training. That does not include the cost of equipment for the additional soldiers. Analysts said the Marine Corps costs were similar to those of the Army.
Including indirect costs, such as equipment, the troop increase could add US$15 billion or more to the annual defence budget, some analysts estimated.
Gates noted that active-duty units now spend only about a year at home for every year in a war zone, instead of the goal of two years.
He said it was no longer possible to meet the goal of five years at home for every year deployed for reservists.
US forces
Army: 512,400 (including temporary 30,000 increase)
Navy: 340,700
Marine Corps - 180,000
(including temporary 5000 increase)
Air Force: 334,200
Army National Guard: 350,000
Army Reserve: 200,000
Navy Reserve: 71,300
Marine Corps Reserve: 39,600
Air National Guard: 107,000
Air Force Reserve: 74,900
Coast Guard Reserve: 10,000
- REUTERS
