Strengthening Our Military

      2007 State of the Union Policy Initiatives
      In Focus: Defense
     

Increasing The Size Of The Army And Marine Corps

Tonight, President Bush Will Act On Defense Secretary Bob Gates' Recommendation And Ask Congress For Authority To Increase The Overall Strength Of Our Active Army And The Marine Corps By 92,000 Soldiers And Marines In The Next Five Years. A larger Army and Marine Corps will expand the capabilities of our armed forces while reducing the stress on the force and the war fighter caused by deployments in the Global War on Terror. It may take some time for these new troops to become available for deployment, but it is important that our men and women in uniform know that additional manpower and resources are on the way.

• United States Army: 65,000 additional Soldiers, bringing the total to 547,000 Soldiers.

• United States Marine Corps: 27,000 additional Marines, bringing the total to 202,000 Marines.

Capitalizing On Transformational Successes In The Army

The Army Has Already Made Transformational Steps To Increase The Size Of Its Deployable Force Without Increasing The Total Size Of The Force. The Army has realigned 57,000 personnel in the Army Active, Reserve, and Guard into skill sets that are in the highest demand. 13,000 Soldiers have been realigned from administrative and facilities support jobs into the Army's operationally deployable force.

Two Steps To A Larger Force

Step One: The President's Proposal Will Make The Temporary Force Increases Authorized By Congress In The National Defense Authorization Act For FY2006 Permanent.

• United States Army: Make the current 30,000 Soldier temporary increase permanent.

• United States Marine Corps: Make the current 5,000 Marine temporary increase permanent.

Step Two: Recruit Additional Solders And Marines Through 2012.

• United States Army: Recruit 6,000 new Soldiers in 2007; 7,000 new Soldiers per year through 2011; and 1,000 in 2012.

• United States Marine Corps: Recruit 4,000 new Marines in 2007; 5,000 new Marines each year through 2010; and 3,000 in 2011.