Armed Forces News

Retired Vice Adm. Norbert Ryan, president of the Military Officers Association of America, says the administration may be relying too strongly on reservist and Guard troops for deployments. He is concerned that many of those may not re-enlist. To solve the problem, he recommended that the active-duty Army should be increased by “tens of thousands.” The Army’s near-term alternative has been to keep some 30,000 soldiers from being discharged or retired at the end of their terms under its “stop-loss” program. Ryan said that a larger end strength is critical. “How can we afford this end strength for our Army, and how can we afford to do more for our Guard and Reserve?” he asked. “How can we afford not to? We’re in a war.” More than 20 percent of the U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq are guardsmen and reservists.