Analysis: Expanding the military, without a draft

WASHINGTON — President Bush's call to build up the size of the Army and Marine Corps confronts the U.S. military with a sizable and potentially costly challenge, especially given its recent history of war-related recruiting problems. But one solution remains firmly off the table: reinstituting a draft.

Bush last week endorsed proposals to increase the size of the two services. The proposals have wide support, from those who advocate a short-term boost in the number of troops in Iraq as well as those who say a larger overall force will be needed even if troops are moved out of Iraq.

By boosting incentives and bonus money, adding recruiters and continuing to increase the military advertising budget, the Army should be able to sign up an additional 10,000 people a year within the current all-volunteer system, according to many military experts. But they add that such an increase would be costly. An additional 10,000 soldiers would cost at least an additional $1.2 billion annually.

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