Pentagon officials, House lawmakers at odds over managing troops

Senior Defense officials admitted Wednesday that the military needs more troops as a result of deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, but denied that the Pentagon is using drastic measures to maintain the current force or will seek to reinstate the draft.

"Are we stretched thin with active and reserve component forces now? Absolutely," Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody told the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing.

Lawmakers on the committee introduced a plan in May to increase the active-duty Army by 30,000 soldiers and Marine Corps by 9,000 soldiers over the next three years at an estimated cost of $4 billion per year.

Cody said the Army could use 10,000 more troops each year for the next three years.

Defense officials outlined new troop rotation plans for Iraq and Afghanistan during the hearing. The plans call for about 135,000 Army and Marine troops to be deployed in Iraq through March 2005, of which about 57 percent will be active duty and 43 percent will come from the reserves.

Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Pentagon's director of operations, denied that the administration plans to raise troop levels after the November presidential elections.

Committee ranking member Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said the Pentagon is taking "drastic measures to man the next rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan," including implementing broad "stop-loss" policies preventing about 45,000 soldiers from leaving their units; moving forces from South Korea; and requiring about 5,600 soldiers from the Individual Ready Reserve to return to service for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War.

"Once you've used these measures of last resort, what happens? I'm seriously worried about this," Skelton said. "I just don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation."

The Defense Department supports a temporary increase in troop levels, said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. He told the committee, however, the department disagrees with a permanent increase because it is not clear how such a forced would be funded.

Chu also denied the Pentagon is resorting to drastic measures to maintain the current force and handle deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I would not call these measures of last resort," he said. "These are measures that keep the burden equitably shared."

Chu also denied that the Pentagon is formulating a plan to reinstate the draft. "The administration does not support resumption of the draft. There is no secret plan on this one," he asserted.

Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C, said he believes the Pentagon's plan for Iraq is lacking because it does not indicate how and when U.S. troops will be withdrawn.

Schwartz said troops will be pulled out incrementally as parts of the country become more stable. He would not give a time line, saying only that it would take "several years."

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the Pentagon is wrong to oppose a permanent increase in troop size. "In the end, it does take people, and you are using these people pretty hard. I would urge the administration to take a look at a larger military."