Thread: need for troops

so gates is planning to increase the number of troops by 22,000. "The plus-up of active-duty troops will take the Army from 547,000 to 569,000 forces in what Gates characterized as a temporary increase of the Army's "end strength" for three fiscal years." "This is an important and necessary step to ensure that we continue to properly support the needs of our commanders in the field while providing relief for our current force and their families,"(right off www.army.mil)

i'm all for the relief, but what are some of the number that dictate the increase? i hear a lot of mix things that only a handfull of US troops have been killed in Afghanistan, but then they say that the death rate is alarmingly hire than it was during the same phase of opperations in Iraq. how many of our troops are really not comming home and will the increase in troops actually decrease the length of deployments?

and on a side note i thought they were recently telling recruiters that the military was downsizing and they were being more selective of new recruits?