The House Armed Services Committee will propose the Pentagon add 30,000 Army soldiers and 9,000 Marines to the military over the next three years under a plan that would eventually cost $4 billion a year to support, according to panel members. The plan to boost so-called "end strength" will be proposed as part of the House's fiscal year 2005 defense authorization bill. The Army and Marine Corps are currently authorized to maintain 482,000 and 175,000 troops, respectively. In a briefing...
