U.S. to expand Army

U.S. to expand Army

news.xinhuanet.com

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States would expand the size of its Army by adding 22,000 new troops, as the military is strained by deployment to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, said the government on Monday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that President Barack Obama has accepted the recommendation by Secretary of the Army Pete Geren and Chief of Staff of the Army General George Casey to temporarily increase the active duty end strength of the Army by up to 22,000, making the total reach 569,000 soldiers.

He told reporters at a news briefing that the incre

(visit the link for the full news article)

Not so sure I'm buying Gates' explanation; I think there's more to this than is being reported. I'm sure the resources of the military are strained, considering troops are deployed in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but 22,000 new troops is a lot. Are they expecting conflicts elsewhere, such as North Korea?


TA

news.xinhuanet.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

One of my browser extensions threw up a red flag on the source page, so here is an alternate. I don't think the first source is dangerous, but it's best to err on the side of caution. I'm a bit overzealous in internet protection, and I believe this to be a false-positive warning.


TA

How are they supposed to add troops?

I feel a draft coming.

reply to post by 12.21.12

That's what I was thinking but I didn't want to be labeled a 'scaremonger' (again). I have no clue how they plan to do that unless they do restart the draft.


TA

reply to post by TheAssociate


Well if they didn't turn me down for having a DUI 2 years ago, they would only need 21,999. Too late now, I'm in college and they missed their chance.

A draft would enrage me. If they turned me down, I'll be turning them down.

Armed Forces recruitment highest since Iraq invasion due to recession The recession has had a major impact on the Armed Forces leading to the highest recruitment figures since the 2003 Iraq invasion, new Ministry of Defence statistics have shown.

So urce

The above headline was from the UK. I don't have any reason to believe the US would be any different, but I haven't found any supporting evidence yet.

also the last number I could find with a cursory look, was from 2005, in which about THIRTY COUNTRIES had US troops deployed.
It's the second graph on this page..

Do you guys think a draft would go over very well? I don't think it's going to be needed, because people are hungry, but what if?

I smell another war coming. This is kind of scary. I hope they dont do a draft and force young people to join up.


[edit on 21-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

reply to post by jeasahtheseer

I smell another war coming.

My thought exactly. If we get involved in another conflict on top of the ones we're already in, they're not going to have much of a choice but to start drafting.


TA

22,000 troops is not alot .... remember the US Army needs 20 REMF troops to support a single combat arms soldier so of that 22,000 only 1,100 are combat arms. That's barely a single infantry regimental combat team.

If there was a draft they would probably use the financial collapse as a strategy, then of course there is Obamas Citizen Corps whatever that is suppposed to be. Charlie Rangel (I think thats his name) is on the Obama comittee isn't he? He was trying to reinstate the draft back in 2007 remember?

This could have something to do with it:

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of a temporary plus up of 30,000 soldiers to be about $2 billion in 2011, $4 billion in 2012 and $2 billion in 2013, according to a report issued July 14.
source

This could just be a ploy to increase the slice of the pie the military receives.


TA

How about Obama's own "civilian" national security force? [militia]

reply to post by Foppezao

Fortunately, he hasn't gotten that yet. Though, I don't know if/when he will and if those unlucky enough end up involved will eventually be put into military service. Good question.


TA

Originally posted by 12.21.12
How are they supposed to add troops?

I feel a draft coming.

Offer financial incentives.

At the bloodiest point of Iraq they were paying around a $10,000 bonus for combat MOS enlistees.

Telling a poor kid you'll give him 10 grand if he joins the army has an effect on some people that might not otherwise consider it.

reply to post by Schaden


How about financial forgiveness?

Serve your country and be cleared of your debt.

Originally posted by Schaden

Originally posted by 12.21.12
How are they supposed to add troops?

I feel a draft coming.

Offer financial incentives.

At the bloodiest point of Iraq they were paying around a $10,000 bonus for combat MOS enlistees.

Telling a poor kid you'll give him 10 grand if he joins the army has an effect on some people that might not otherwise consider it.

True. Thats why my sister joined pretty much (i wish she never did because shes dead now). We are VERY poor people. I personally joined in 2001 for college money pretty much (although I never made it to college, sadly).

Peace

[edit on 21-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

Originally posted by Schaden

Originally posted by 12.21.12
How are they supposed to add troops?

I feel a draft coming.

Offer financial incentives.

At the bloodiest point of Iraq they were paying around a $10,000 bonus for combat MOS enlistees.

Telling a poor kid you'll give him 10 grand if he joins the army has an effect on some people that might not otherwise consider it.

The financial crisis is a "good" starting point to recruit the crisis' victims..Just look at Nazi-Germany and how they builded the Wehrmacht after their crisis, that was quiet impressive...although i dont want to make straight comparisons


@jeasahtheseer
I am really sorry to hear that, my deepest condolences to you and your family... peace...



[edit on 21-7-2009 by Foppezao]

I think the Government needs to focus on PAYING our troops more.. I had looked at the payscales not to long ago.. a new recruit makes the equivalent of about $8.30 an hour?! I was shocked, to say the least..

Gates request is really a drop in the bucket as far as I'm concerned, 22,000 isn't really a lot. I agree that our volunteer forces is overly stretched but I don't think another 22,000 troops is going to alleviate the strain from the long and rigorous deployments many are experiencing. Too me, that is the achilles heal at this point, because these long periods away and in combat zones; is screwing with the minds of our soldiers, sailors, and marines.

However, 22,000 more couldn't hurt either with the escalation of Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, and maybe Iran down the road. Folks, this is a dangerous time and Pandora's Box has been opened since September 11th 2001 and a global conflict is on the horizon and who knows where the spark will be that ignites the raging inferno? I hope there is no need for a draft either, but I wouldn't hold my breath though.

[edit on 21-7-2009 by Jakes51]