Concerns are justifiably high over the state of our military. The high operational tempo has sent our service members overseas at an alarming rate. Many active duty troops are working on their third, perhaps even a fourth combat deployment. For some of these service members they are returning home from a combat tour only to redeploy to Iraq or Afghanistan in less than a year. Our reservists and National Guardsmen are no longer serving two weeks a year and one weekend a month. These “part-time” soldiers are spending up to a year and a half in combat. As our troops endure repeated deployments they are more susceptible to mental distress related to combat. The Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team has stated that nearly 25% of soldiers and Marines going through their second combat deployment show signs of mental illness. The team has also released a study that shows a link between the time spent in combat and alcoholism, marriage problems and suicide.

Given the stress the current operational actions are having on the members of our military and their families, how can we accommodate our current military efforts, and be prepared to respond to a future attack of global crisis, and still keep our troops healthy? One answer is to increase the size of our military. Our active-duty Army has decreased 40% from its level in the 1990’s. Though we are engage din a global war on terror, we are fighting with a smaller military. And though the military is spending huge amounts on re-enlistment bonuses, the biggest problem in boosting our military is money. Military spending is less than half of what it was during Vietnam. Much of the money the military doe shave is being dedicated to replacing and repairing equipment and on the medical treatment for our injured troops. Increasing the military budget is always a matter of public debate and any President or Congress that one day asked for a significant increase in military spending to recruit new troops, would face a huge challenge.

The Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team has shown that the best way to keep our troops healthy is to give them more time at home. But the only way to give them the time they need between deployments and at the same time ease the burden on our reservists and National Guardsmen is to increase the size of our active-duty military. It is time for our government to invest in rebuilding our military.