Lieberman proposes Army reinforcements

Senator Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent, offered a budget amendment this afternoon to increase the Army's ranks even more than already planned.

Increasing the active-duty Army by 30,000 to 577,400 will reduce the strain on the military, which is fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with its other commitments around the world, said Lieberman, who was joined by cosponsors John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, Mark Begich, an Alaska Democrat, John Thune, a South Carolina Republican.

“We must act now to reduce the strain on the men and women who bravely serve our country,” Lieberman said in a statement. “Although the Army has completed the Grow the Force Initiative that Congress authorized three years ago, our soldiers still spend only one day at home for every day they spend in the theater. The number of our deployed troops is likely to rise through the middle of next year, and we need to support them by continuing to grow the force.”

“Growing the Army’s active duty force to 577,400 will allow the Army to take immediate steps to reduce the strain on the force and better plan for its future personnel requirements,” Lieberman added. “The number of young men and women who are willing to serve their country has never been higher. We should use this opportunity to build a larger, more capable Army.”

President Obama's budget proposal already includes increases of 65,000 in the Army and 27,000 in the Marines, to 547,400 and 202,000, respectively, by the end of 2010.

Both military branches are ahead of schedule: As of Feb. 3, 2009, the active ranks of the Army were at 542,600, and as of Jan. 31, there were 200,979 Marines.