Top enlisted man addresses Army strength

[unhappycamper]

Sgt. Major of the Army Kenneth Preston talks about how the Army is getting bigger to a group of soldiers in Heidelberg on Thursday, but he cautioned them that downrange deployments are not ending anytime soon.


Top enlisted man addresses Army strength
By Mark Abramson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, October 25, 2008

HEIDELBERG, Germany — The Army is close to reaching its goal of adding 65,000 troops, which ultimately will help ease the strain of long deployments, the service’s top enlisted man said Thursday.

Sgt. Major of the Army Kenneth Preston was in Germany to talk to soldiers and answer their questions before he met with U.S. Army Europe commander Gen. Carter Ham.

Preston, a 33-year veteran, came to Europe from Iraq and was slated to travel to Italy on Friday.

"You got to have a bigger Army," Preston told the soldiers at a gathering on Patrick Henry Village. "Imagine if we were still at 33 brigades."

The active-duty Army how has 40 combat brigades, and it wants to grow to 48 brigades, Preston said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58376