Posted on 04/11/2007 12:15:00 PM PDT by Froufrou
The Pentagon will lengthen tours of duty for all active-duty Army units in Iraq to 15 months from the current 12 months as the military struggles to supply enough troops for the conflict, two defense officials said Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates planned to announce the decision Wednesday afternoon, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
It is the latest move by the Pentagon to cope with the strains of fighting two wars simultaneously and maintaining a higher troop level in Iraq as part of President Bush's revised strategy for stabilizing Baghdad.
Officials on Monday said some 13,000 National Guard troops were receiving orders alerting them to prepare for possible deployment to Iraq—meaning a second tour for several thousand of them. Officials said a final decision to deploy the four infantry combat brigades later this year will be based on conditions on the ground and named specific Guard units based in Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Ohio.
The Pentagon said the Guard units would serve as replacement forces in the regular troop rotation for the war, and would not be connected to the controversial military buildup that was ordered by President Bush and which officials say is starting to show some success in curbing violence in Baghdad.
Word has also emerged that Defense Department officials were considering a plan to extend by up to four months the tours of duty for as many as 15,000 U.S. troops already in Iraq as a way to maintain the buildup past the summer.
There are currently 145,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, and when the buildup is completed by June, there would be more than 160,000, officials are calculating.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Sure, what's another 3 months in a war zone between friends? /sarcasm
I'd say it IS a big deal, but they still have to suck it up and deal with it. I would just like it better if I saw the government taking the necessary actions to correct the gap between available troops and deployment days.
Base closings, right? I think 88 was the year they closed Bergstrom in Austin.
It is a big deal if one wants to make it a big deal.
Just a general comment but I have seen many families ripped apart by the strains of deployment. From a family point of view we should be concerned about the sheer number of broken homes being created.
I would push for more overlap and shortened deployments because husbands, wives and kids are every bit a part of the military just like the deployed soldier, sailor, or marine.
If they break under the strain so does the deployed soldier.
I wish the government could get back on rotational track but because the Army has rotated some units 3 times in 4 years it’s going to take at least 4 rotations of an additional 3 months to get back on track. Hopefully by then there will be the additional forces also available.
As for the war situation...sometimes I wonder if you and I are the only ones who actually realize that.
Sometimes I wonder right along with you here. But I believe if we could get a relentless effort put out by the WH/RNC (and more importantly Civ 527s) which focused 100% on this WOT/Iraq....focused on our successes....On why we are in this fight....On why we must stay in this fight.....We would see the publics mood turn around 180 in a very short time frame.
There may be some discontent for the WOT/Iraq out there....but it is one of those "mile wide but an inch deep" type situations.....Peoples attitudes could be changed in a short time frame if the efforts were put forth. Why this isn't happening is beyond me.
Best regards to you.......I will say first and foremost soldiers concerns are that they want to be victorious before that of they want to come home....simply for the sake of coming home.
Just like hangnails when they pinch my pinkies. I think this is somewhat of a bigger deal than that. If you were getting ready to come home for Memorial Day and just found out today that it's like the end of the (incredibly crappy Iraqi) summer, I think it would be a little bit of a bigger deal to you as well. Especially if you were getting shot at during that incredibly crappy Iraqi summer.
“The 3 months extensions is designed to give continuity to all actively deployed troops and prevent the Army from breaking.”
That much is clear.
What is NOT clear is how you are ‘measuring the increased risk,’ rb. Being a soldier is risky business whether we’re talking a minute or a day or a year. Morale is likewise fragile.
Anyone who believes the extra 3 months will mean s/he’s doomed does not have the mindset to serve to begin with.
Please convey to your son my highest praise and thanks for his service. It is a great thing he is doing.
If they miss Memorial Day I’ll buy them a beer on Labor Day but either way it will be the best and coldest I can get.
Not a big deal? How many tours in Iraq have you done? I've done 2, but since I'm a Marine mine were only 7 months. I can't imagine 15 months in a row. Not to mention, many of these guys will be on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th tour.
“Anyone who believes the extra 3 months will mean s/he’s doomed does not have the mindset to serve to begin with.”
Anybody who thinks “it’s no big deal” to be in an active warzone and be extended from a 12 month to a 15 month tour, a quarter of your regularly scheduled tour, isn’t getting shot at.
My nephew does not feel he’s “doomed”, unless HillDog wins!
Did you hear about this?
Of course the families support their soldiers, and whether they “whine and cry” or not is their business. I’m talking about what it is doing to troops who are already finding themselves on repeated lengthening tours with shorter dwell times and no end in sight. It’s a recipe for collapse by any measurement, and it’s not a matter of ‘if,’ but a matter of ‘when.’
Agreed. It's obviously the dumbest move the voters have made in over half a century.
You say that as if you know what you're talking about. How do you know that?
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