Topic: Pentagon Wants To Expand Army And Marines

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
February 2, 2008
Pg. 21
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is seeking more than $20 billion in its 2009 budget to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps as the military struggles to fight wars on two fronts, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The proposed budget, which will be unveiled Monday, will call for $15.5 billion to boost the size of the Army by 7,000 soldiers, to a total of 532,400. And it will propose spending $5 billion to add 5,000 Marines to the corps, for a total of 194,000.
Separately, the budget will call for nearly $11 billion to cover the costs of training, recruiting and retention.
Both services have been strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, prompting Pentagon leaders to seek money to increase recruiting and bonuses in a broad effort to add soldiers and Marines.
The funding is part of the Defense Department's overall $515 billion request for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 that President George W. Bush will send to Congress. That is an increase of $35 billion - or 7.5 percent over this year's funding level.
Service members would get a 3.4 percent pay raise as part of the budget plan. Army personnel costs would eat up more than one-third of its proposed budget, or nearly $52 billion.
Plans are to increase the number of the active duty Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers by 74,000 overall, with the active duty force growing by 65,000 to a total of 547,000. Army leaders plan to complete the increase by 2010, and about half of the 65,000 has already been achieved.
The Pentagon budget would fund a force of 2.2 million in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines.