The Army and Marine Corps have added forces in the last two years, and more are planned for 2008.
However, it's important to keep things in perspective. Even with overall increases since 2000, the Army has only recovered 31,000 of its nearly 250,000 losses from 1990 levels. Similarly, the Marines have only regained about 8,500 members compared to a loss of a little over 23,000 since 1990 levels.
MOAA applauds that long-overdue reversal and strongly supports those services' renewed recruiting and retention efforts. But the recent increases replace only a fraction of troop cuts since 1990.
Meanwhile, Navy and the Air Force manpower levels continue to decline, with more cuts coming. Under current law, the Navy and Air Force continue to tumble in numbers losing a cumulative 233,000 and 190,000 respectively since 1990.
