Army manning at highest levels since ’90s

[unhappycamper]

Last October lawmakers authorized a permanent end strength of 547,400 and endorsed a measure that allows the service to temporarily increase the size of the force by 22,000 soldiers.


Army manning at highest levels since ’90s
By Jim Tice - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Aug 15, 2010 12:21:52 EDT

A recent surge of recruits into basic training has pushed the size of the active Army past 566,000 soldiers — a 17-year high and nearly 19,000 more than the permanent manning level authorized by Congress.

The last time the Army was this big was in 1993, when it was in the midst of the force reduction that followed the end of the Cold War.

Despite the current surplus of soldiers, the Army is not violating the intent of Congress.

That is because last October, lawmakers not only authorized a permanent end strength of 547,400 but endorsed a measure that allows the service to temporarily increase the size of the force by 22,000 soldiers, for a total of 569,400.

The Army has exercised that authority by adding 15,000 soldiers to the active force since late last year.

[rocktivity]

1. It helps to have a somewhat sane commander in chief

and a non-existent job market for the young.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[lunatica]

2. I actually saw this coming during the Bush Era

When you cut off all the avenues for careers by outsourcing jobs, cutting education, and keeping the population in perpetual debt for decades you finally get yourself a standing military of volunteers. I doubt the new volunteers are any more patriotic than those who have joined historically. It's just that so many of them have very few choices.

It doesn't take genius to figure this out. The same is happening for corporations. Like the Auto Industry taking our money to survive yet hiring their new hires at much lower wages than the one's they were forced to rehire. We live in a Corporate Ruled era now whether we like it or not. But as our lives take a financial nose dive let's keep watching all those ads on TV about how buying luxury automobiles will make us happy.