Jack Reed: “My amendment will increase the end strength of the Army to meet the incredible mission that has been thrust upon them in…”

“My amendment will increase the end strength of the Army to meet the incredible mission that has been thrust upon them in the wake of the war on terror and the operations in Afghanistan and the operations in Iraq. I believe it is incumbent that we formally increase the end strength of the Army and we incorporate within the Army budget the requirements for these additional soldiers. At this juncture, the Army is being increased on an emergency basis through supplemental appropriations. I think that is not the appropriate way to do it. I think we have to recognize that the struggles we are engaged in are long term; they are not temporary. We have to have an end strength within the authorization bill that reflects that long-term effort we are engaged in. I also believe we have to have within the Army budget the baseline established so that if a supplemental is delayed or is not sufficient to cover these additional troops, the Army does not have to go among its own programs and root about and find moneys to pay for these troops. These troops are necessary. It is expedient that we should in fact engage and correct this discrepancy between the missions and the men and women who are serving our Army so well. This is a quick glimpse of our soldiers who are committed throughout the world: 310,000 soldiers in 120 countries. The most significant, of course, are operations in Afghanistan and in Iraq. There are 13,000 in Afghanistan and 126,000 in Iraq.”