A 1994 Defense Science Board report found "pockets of unreadiness" attributed to turbulence in the armed forces. The occupation phase, however, soon involved some 220,000 troops. Whether from internal or external pressure, in January 2004, DOD responded. Permanent End Strength Increase

On January 19, 2007, after having resisted previous congressional calls to permanently increase the end strengths of the Army and Marine Corps, the Department of Defense announced that it would seek approval to increase the permanent end strengths of the active Army by 65,000 and the active Marine Corps by 27,000. P.L. 110-181 , the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, authorizes this permanent end strength increase. The "right" size and composition for the military addresses military requirements now and in the future. Critics counter that the war on terrorism and occupation of Iraq could endure for many years and that the continuing potential for sudden, major crises, such as in Korea, requires a robust U.S. military force. 1585 , the Fiscal Year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, ( P.L.
For several years, some Members of Congress and many military analysts have argued that the U.S. Armed Forces are too small to adequately meet all the requirements arising after the Cold War, particularly with the advent of 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. Congress addressed the issue by raising ground force statutory end strengths in the FY2005 defense authorization bill ( P.L. 108-375 ), the FY2006 bill ( P.L. 109-163 ), and again in FY2007 ( P.L. 109-364 ). In FY2007, the Administration requested a permanent end strength increaseâ65,000 for the Army and 27,000 for the Marine Corpsâand P.L. 110-181 ) the FY2008 defense authorization bill approved the increase. This report describes the background of these actions, current Administration planning, and assesses potential issues for the 110 th Congress. This report will be updated.