GovernmentExecutive.com

Marine Corps Commandant James Conway on Tuesday acknowledged that increasing the size of his force by 27,000 troops over the next five years would be no easy task.

"It is going to be a challenge," Conway told the House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, adding that recruiters already must work hard to meet their current goals. The Marine Corps exceeded its February recruiting goal by 6 percent, according to figures released Monday by the Defense Department.

But Conway, who took over as Marine Corps chief late last year, said he had seen a "troubling trend" in recent polls that indicated that the propensity to join the military was waning across all races, a circumstance that will only exacerbate his coming recruitment challenges.

As it prepares to try to attract 5,000 more new troops each year over the next five years, the Marine Corps is pressing its re-enlistment efforts, encouraging more Marines to sign up for a second tour. The service also will increase its pool of recruiters, pour more money into advertising campaigns, and possibly offer bonuses to entice potential enlistees.

But Conway cautioned that bonuses might not be as generous or numerous as the other services, saying it is "not our culture" to do so. The service does not plan to lower its recruitment standards, but may have to sign a larger number of waivers for recruits now than in the past, Conway said.

In January, President Bush announced plans to increase the size of the military by adding 92,000 new soldiers and Marines to alleviate stress on the heavily deployed ground forces. Conway supported those efforts Tuesday, stating in written testimony that boosting the Marine Corps' size to 202,000 troops will reduce the strain on both individual Marines and the force as a whole.

Currently, many Marine combat units are home seven months or less between seven-month deployments overseas, according to the commandant's prepared testimony. Also on Tuesday, Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullen said he would need almost 1,000 additional sailors to support the growing Marine Corps.

The subcommittee called the hearing to focus on the Navy and Marine Corps' $2.1 billion request for military construction programs. But following recent revelations of squalid conditions and bureaucratic roadblocks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, lawmakers also questioned Conway and Mullen on the state of Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland and their other healthcare facilities.

Mullen and Conway assured lawmakers that Bethesda, though in need of some repair, was in good condition. They also said they created a task force, which includes the inspectors general from both services, to review and investigate the Navy's healthcare system.

COMMENTS

• Thank God that Rummy is gone. But the real issue is saving money and getting more troops ready. My question is to Skelton and Cleaver. Sirs: Please look into the BRAC situation. You have a great facility at Richards Gebaur called Marine Corps Mobilization Command, 15303 Andrews Rd, KCMO. We own the building there and lease the land for $1.00. We are on the BRAC list to move to New Orleans. Please stop this. We have a lot of civilians that have been here 20+ years and a lot of great Marines here. None of us want to be forced to go to New Orleans. Please fight for us to stay here! GovExec.com reader Posted March 15, 2007 9:24 AM
• Well put, JD. As a fellow Vietnam vet, I was saying the same words about my children when I came back from that war (which I volunteered to fight). After everything experienced, said, written, and studied about the Vietnam War, how mind boggling and sad that we find ourselves in similar circumstances again. Our memories can't be that short - can they? And I don't care if it's the desert instead of the jungle, insurgents rather than invaders, etc., etc. The fact is that we are overreaching with our military assets, misapplying them to ill-defined purposes, and poorly leading them (I am referring to the political leadership). My heart aches for the sons and daughters that are there now. Where have all the flowers gone, indeed. GovExec.com reader Posted March 14, 2007 7:25 PM
• Maybe he should talk to Pace! They have thrown out about 10,000 people over the last few years that would have gone a long way to help him achieve his goals. Maybe it’s their policies that are at fault. Why cannot they ever learn that discrimination on an illogical basis generally has proven bad for the organization that discriminates! Remember this military wouldn't take blacks until World War II and then treated them poorly. They still argue about women in the military and now that they are in they are treated badly as well - look at the history of the military academies and military training schools such as VMI! I think Gates should get rid of Pace and institute policies of non-discrimination for the military! The military attitude is obsolete and archaic and should be replaced with a modern outlook and operational policies that end discrimination and punish abuses properly and not try to hide them under the rug! Walter Reed is only the tip of the military iceberg! Pace represents everything bad about management and should be fired immediately because he is far worse for the military and the country than the guys at Walter Reed were. Also, Walter Reed happened under the Pace watch so he contributes to a bad attitude throughout the military and should be eliminated. hopeful Posted March 14, 2007 7:15 AM