Army to meet goal, but it’s not enough

End-strength of 547,000
Army needs 30,000 more troops on top of goal


Army to meet goal, but it’s not enough
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Dec 17, 2008 19:02:54 EST

The Army will meet its end-strength goal of 547,000 this fiscal year, three years earlier than first planned, but that still won’t be enough to meet operational demands, a senior official said.

The Army needs to grow by at least 30,000 more troops to meet current demand, Army Undersecretary Nelson Ford said Tuesday. An end-strength of close to 580,000 is needed to meet the demand, he said.

As brigade combat teams draw down in Iraq, thousands more “enablers,” or support troops in high-demand, low-density specialties will still be needed to meet missions still underway.

“As the BCTs come down, it means you have more people spread thin and you need more logistics, more aviation, controls and communications,” Ford said. As Army undersecretary, “I don’t do demand, I do supply. The only other option is lower demand,” he said.

Ford, who will step down in early January, made his comments to military reporters during a trip to Fort Stewart, Ga., where he visited soldiers and cadre at the post’s Warrior Transition Battalion. He was briefed on construction plans for the 3rd Infantry Division’s growth in the next three years.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_moretroops_121708w/%2e



uhc comment: You meet your goal but it's not enough? Perhaps you should set your goals to what you really need. Or is that too unpalatable?