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Gen. Petraeus' and Ambassador Crocker's report is finally beginning to settle. There is one clear message that Montana and its politicians should have gathered from both the report and the coverage surrounding it: The United States needs to put more men and women in uniform. This does not mean sending more troops to Iraq. It simply means that we need more personnel to relieve the ones who are already there.

America is settling into a political stalemate. President Bush is intent on having a large force in Iraq throughout the rest of his presidency and Congress is not ready to push for immediate withdrawal. The political landscape may change, but nothing suggests that it will happen soon. Therefore, we must ensure that we have enough military personnel to continue operations at the current levels.

America has traditionally expanded its military to fight extended wars. Our refusal to expand personnel for these conflicts has led to an overextended active duty, National Guard units executing sustained operations for which their organizations were not designed and a tremendous increase in contracted soldiers. While this manner of personnel management might be perfectly acceptable for wars that last months, it does not make sense for wars that last years.

Years of fighting two simultaneous wars and the current surge in Iraq has led the military to extend tours and decrease time at home. According to a recent article in Time magazine, most Marines now deploy for seven months abroad and then spend seven months at home. They used to spend 14 months at home for every seven spent abroad. The Army used to have a 1-2 ratio for time abroad versus time at home. Now soldiers spend 15 months abroad and 12 at home. That is unacceptable. Our troops and their families deserve better.

Congress needs to take the lead and put funding into the formation of additional units. It cannot wait for President Bush to make the decision. President Bush will not increase the size of the military without a clear request from his generals. His generals are unlikely to ask for more personnel, because Bush fired Gen. Eric Shinseki for providing an assessment of how many soldiers it would take to win the war in Iraq that was significantly higher than the administration's estimate. Congress cannot wait from our generals to overcome the trepidations that linger from Shinseki's firing.

Montana has given more than its fair share of men and women to fight in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As such, Montana's congressmen have a duty to ensure that America has a large enough military to fight these wars efficiently and effectively. This duty crosses party lines and goes beyond supporting the president's war. For better or worse, our nation's greatest citizens need a supporting hand, and we must provide it.

Matt Kuntz is a West Point graduate and an Army veteran. He currently practices law in Helena.

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