By: fedweekDespite a Congressional Budget Office assessment that 27,000 troops would be required to support the “surge” of 21,500 combat troops into Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said that ground commanders have asked only for 6,000 to 7,000 support troops. But they won’t be Marines, according to a Marine spokesman. He said the Marine Corps contribution remains the same: two infantry battalions and a Marine expeditionary unit, totaling some 4,000 Marines.
