WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama alerted Congress of his intent to temporarily increase the U.S. Army's active troop level by as many as 22,000 military personnel.
In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Obama's request for the temporary troop increase includes a bump of 15,000 service personnel in fiscal year 2010.
The Pentagon earlier this year had asked for a temporary hike in the number of service personnel to eliminate stress.
"This increase will allow military commanders to reduce the strain on the force and increase time at home between deployments," Obama said in the letter sent Thursday.
Eight years of "sustained combat operations" in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a toll on U.S. troops and their families.
"Expanding the Army to 562,400 troops in 2010 will reduce stress and strain on soldiers and families," Obama wrote. "It will increase the number of troops available to deploy while also helping the Army to end the practice of retaining soldiers beyond their period of obligated service."
In asking Congress to consider the budget amendments for the temporary troop increase, Obama said costs of the amendments would be offset through "the reallocation of approximately $1 billion from lower-priority (Department of Defense) contingency operations' requirements, which are no longer needed at the current time due to changed circumstances because sufficient resources exist to protect United States personnel."
