Although the Defense Department has registered opposition to
an increase in end strength, citing costs of additional personnel
and time required for training as reasons, Congress has
decided differently. The fiscal 2005 authorization act has
increased the Army’s active-duty end strength by 20,000 and
that of the Marine Corps by 3,000. At the same time, the act
doubled the number of service members authorized for deployment
to Colombia from 400 to 800. The act also allows the
administration to increase the number of U.S. citizens working
for private contractors in Colombia from 400 to 600.
