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Spec ops forces growing 5 percent per year

The head of the U.S. Special Operations Command said there is no such thing as instant growth in special operations personnel.

The number of special operations troops is growing at a rate of about 2,500 a year, or roughly 5 percent, as a result of current military strategy that puts them on the front lines fighting terrorists, said Adm. Eric Olson, as he testified Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.

By the end of fiscal 2009, U.S. Special Operations Command will add 1,536 military and civilian billets, bringing the command to,890 people — 43,745 active-duty personnel, 6,870 National Guard and reserve members and 5,275 civilians.

Long-range defense plans call for growth to continue at 3 percent to 5 percent a year, Olson said.

Some lawmakers think Special Operations Command is not growing fast enough. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., chairman of the armed services committee’s oversight and investigations panel, said the growth rate “may be terribly inadequate” given Olson’s prediction that there is no end in sight to the mission of fighting terrorism.

Olson agreed that a larger force would be helpful but said there are limits to how fast new special operations forces can be trained. If a bigger force is needed, he said, it would take more time to grow because the annual rate cannot be dramatically increased while maintaining quality.

Olson and Adm. William Fallon, the U.S. Central Command chief who also appeared at the hearing, were pressed by lawmakers to define victory in the war on terror and success of the U.S. mission in Iraq. But neither four-star had precise answers.

“I am not convinced there is ever going to be a day where we run up the victory flag,” Olson said of the overall war against terrorists. “We will creep into success.”

Fallon, while citing “significant progress” in Iraq, said there is “no easy answer” about defining victory.

But the level of violence is one indicator, he said. A year ago, there were 150 violent incidents a day in Iraq. Today, the number is about 30 a day.

“That is a good indication for me,” Fallon said.