For the first time since President Bush mobilized the National Guard and Reserve after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Pentagon is abandoning its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday that the change would have been made even if Bush had not ordered an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, further straining the Army and Marine Corps.
The Pentagon also announced that it is proposing to Congress that the size of the Army be increased by 65,000, to 547,000, and that the Marine Corps, the smallest of the services, grow by 27,000, to 202,000, over the next five years. No cost estimate was provided, but officials said it would be at least several billion dollars.
Until now, the Pentagon's policy on the Guard or Reserve was that members' cumulative time on active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted; the remaining limit is on the length of any single mobilization, which may not exceed 24 consecutive months, Pace said.
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