WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is having trouble finding the hundreds of civilians it wants to bolster its troop buildup in Afghanistan, so military reservists might be asked to do many of the jobs.

In announcing the new strategy for the war last month, the administration said it would send several hundred civilians such as agronomists, economists and legal experts to work on reconstruction and development issues as part of the military's counterinsurgency campaign.

Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell said today that the military is trying to find ways to fill the gap. That would likely be with reservists, who often have the necessary skills because of the experience they have in their civilian lives, other officials said.

"It's just a realization that they are not going to be able to provide the 'civilian surge' in the near future and the need is now," Morrell said.

"We're looking at ways to step into the breach and figure out how we can get additional personnel there to help out on the civilian side," Morrell said.