-Caveat Lector- FEBRUARY 16, 13:38 EST Army To Create Light Strike Forces By LAURA MYERS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) � Even as the Army struggles to fill its ranks, the service is creating light ``strike forces'' to deploy swiftly to hot spots worldwide, Army Secretary Louis Caldera said Tuesday. ``We want to get to the fight quickly,'' Caldera said of the experimental units with 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers each. It isn't war, however, but peace and providing comfort that's straining the Army today with missions in the Balkans and hurricane relief efforts in Central America, the secretary said. The Army is three times as busy as during the Cold War, but with 480,000 soldiers has two-thirds the troops it had then as the result of a reduction in the early 1990s that also trimmed the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, he said. ``We in the Army need to ask whether the Army is too small,'' said Caldera, who said he isn't yet suggesting troops be added. Smaller strike forces will allow the Army to move faster and more efficiently and use soldiers to maximum effect, U.S. officials said. ``As we look out toward the future, the Army becomes a power projection Army,'' Caldera said, speaking to defense reporters. ``We need to be a lighter Army, a more agile, more lethal Army.'' Now, Army divisions are designed for conventional warfare with heavy tank and artillery units and up to 18,000 soldiers. As a result, although the Army provides most U.S. ground troops in battlefields and for peacekeeping missions, it takes at least weeks to move out. In Kosovo, for example, if Serbs and ethnic Albanians reach a peace agreement, Marines would be in the vanguard of U.S. troops in any NATO peacekeeping mission. The Army would replace them later. ``That's really an Army mission,'' Caldera said, noting that because of Bosnia, the Army has become well-trained at tricky peacekeeping. The beach-storming Marines, which have strike forces overseas on Navy ships, don't see any conflict with Army plans. ``Clearly, we've got the historical task to be the most ready when the nation is least ready,'' said Lt. Col. Scott Campbell, a Marine Corps spokesman. ``We prepare the way for other forces to follow.'' The first Army strike force will be created within the year at Fort Polk, La., where it will be tested in war games. A strike force would typically include 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers with lighter, but more technically sophisticated tanks and artillery, Caldera said. Soldiers probably would be based in the United States, but could move out overseas more rapidly than now, nonetheless, he said. Specialized equipment and soldiers could be added to any strike force depending on the need � such as deploying an airborne force to secure a landing strip or engineers or heavy combat troops, he said. ``It's like a Lego set, he said. ``You put in the pieces that you need.'' The Air Force also is experimenting with small ``expeditionary'' units � about half the size of a normal 2,000-troop unit � that can be deployed anywhere in the world from U.S. bases within 48 hours. Despite Army restructuring into leaner units, Caldera said, the service probably will fall short of its recruiting goal of about 74,000 soldiers this year. Already, the Army is about 2,300 soldiers short in the first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, and has started offering $3,000 sign-up bonuses and $50,000 scholarships to attract more young men and women. Caldera has suggested that the Army eventually drop its high school diploma requirement to address the long-term recruiting problems. Now, at least 90 percent of recruits must have diplomas. Caldera said he plans a pilot program with several thousand nongraduates to prove those recruits can be successful. ``The military traditionally has been one of those places where you can turn your life around,'' Caldera said. ``The Army is an institution that should not write off young people.'' DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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