U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on Thursday for a permanent boost in the size of the Army and Marine Corps, the military branches most strained by Iraq, at a likely cost of $15 billion a year, Reuters reported. Gates recommended that President George W. Bush add 92,000 troops to the two services over five years, bringing the Army to 547,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps to 202,000 service members. In a further sign of the strain on the U.S. military, Gates also announced that the Pentagon would not be able to meet its goal of giving every reserve unit five years at home for every year spent deployed, at least for the moment. The new defense secretary said the increase in the military was needed for the long-term fight against terrorism. "The emphasis will be on increasing combat capability," Gates said at a White House news conference to discuss Bush's new plan for the Iraq war. "We should recognize that while it may take some time for these troops to become available for deployment, it is important that our men and women in uniform know that additional manpower and resources are on the way," Gates said.
