Military Forces: What is the Appropriate Size for the United States

Abstract

For several years, some Members of Congress and other military analysts have argued that the U.S. Armed Forces are too small to adequately meet all the requirements arising in the post-Cold War era, and particularly in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). In January, 2004, the Department of Defense acknowledged a problem by temporarily adding 30,000 troops to the authorized active duty end strength of the Army. The House and Senate are addressing the issue, in different ways, through the FY2005 Authorization Bill, H.R. 4200 and S. 2400. This report describes the background to this action, current Administration planning, and assesses several significant issues for Congress. The report will be updated.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 28, 2004
Accession Number
ADA479050

Entities

People

  • Edward F. Bruner

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Air Force
  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Base Closures
  • Cold War
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Force Structure
  • International Organizations
  • Iraqi-War
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Requirements
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Stability Operations
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting
  • Strategic Security Studies