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WASHINGTON, April 10, 2008 – President Bush today directed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to shorten deployment lengths for U.S. soldiers in Iraq from 15 to 12 months, starting in August. Video Bush said he made the decision to reduce the strain on the force and because security improvements in Iraq have allowed for the withdrawal of all five surge combat brigades by the end of July. He also said that officials would ensure troops have at least a year at home between deployments. The change goes into affect Aug. 1 and will not affect those already deployed there....

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, April 10, 2008 – On the 101st day of 2008, the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division officially became Combined Joint Task Force 101 and took command of NATO’s Regional Command East sector of Afghanistan from the 82nd Airborne Division. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser and Division Command Sgt. Maj. Vincent Camacho of 101st Airborne Division uncase the division colors during a transfer-of-authority ceremony at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 10, 2008. The 101st Airborne Division assumed command of Combined Joint Task Force 101 from 82nd Airborne Division in Regional Command East of NATO’s International...

Reid: Bush has 'exit strategy' only for himself Congressional Democrats pushed back hard Thursday against President Bush’s speech on Iraq, accusing him of delaying further troop withdrawals so that he can hand off the conflict to the next president. Democrats welcomed Bush’s call to reduce troop deployments from 15 months to 12 months, but they said he should go further and embrace a proposal by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) under which soldiers would spend at least a year at home before they could be called back to active duty in Iraq. Webb’s deployment proposal came up three votes short last...

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C., April 1, 2008 – The spike of violence in Basra and southern Baghdad proves the contention of military leaders that there are still going to be tough days ahead in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told soldiers and airmen here that the fighting in the two cities is an indication that “we are very much tied to conditions on the ground, and conditions on the ground are going to continue to evolve.” Mullen said this does not mean the redeployment of the surge...

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2008 – A military spokesman in Iraq today praised soldiers of an Army brigade that will soon redeploy to the U.S. and mark the first reduction in the number of surge forces sent to stabilize Iraq last year. Multinational Force Iraq officials announced March 6 that some 2,000 paratroopers from the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, will return to Fort Bragg, N.C., in the next several weeks, reducing the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 19 to 18. “On behalf of the men and women of (Multinational Force Iraq), I want to thank the 2nd...

FORT BLISS, Texas, March 5, 2008 – As Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno was urging the Army’s return to 12-month deployments, an Army brigade here just back from Iraq was getting word that it’s time to start training for its next combat rotation. Soldiers of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, who recently returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, after 15 months in Iraq, already are laying plans to return to the field to train up for their next deployment, feasibly as soon as a year away. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from the...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2008 – Conditions on the ground will determine troop redeployment out of Iraq, and more troops are needed in Afghanistan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today at a Pentagon news conference. Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen said no decision has been made about a pause after the first tranche of surge forces return from Iraq. Staffs at U.S. Central Command, in Washington and in Iraq are working on recommendations about troop levels in Iraq for presentation to President Bush in April. One of the five surge brigades has already redeployed from Iraq...

WASHINGTON - Soldiers' battlefield tours would be cut from 15 months to 12 months beginning Aug. 1, under a proposal being considered by the Army as part of an effort to reduce the stress on a force battered by more than six years at war. The proposal, recommended by U.S. Army Forces Command, is being reviewed by senior Army and Pentagon leaders, and would be contingent on the changing needs for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Our top priority is going to be meeting the combatant commanders' requirements, so there may be no decision until we get more clarity on...

A baby's cries were the only sound that broke the hush when the soldiers of the 257th Transportation Company marched out Saturday before an overflow crowd of hundreds of relatives and friends who had come to say farewell. For many of the more than 200 men and women who make up the Army Reserve unit, that sound will be one of the things they miss the most when they deploy, first for two months of training in Indiana, then for the Middle East. They have deployed before, but they have become parents since that last deployment, or added new children...

US to send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago The Pentagon is preparing to send at least 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan in April to bolster efforts to hold off another expected Taliban offensive in the spring, military officials said Wednesday. The move represents a shift in Pentagon thinking that has been slowly developing after months of repeated insistence that the U.S. was not inclined to fill the need for as many as 7,500 more troops that commanders have asked for there. Instead, Defense Secretary Robert Gates pressed NATO allies to contribute the...

FORT HUACHUCA — The shadows of snow clouds steadily built and enveloped the Huachucas, but never quite managed to engulf hangar No. 3 at Libby Army Airfield late Monday afternoon. There was already enough precipitation flowing as the families, friends, a few pets, and comrades-in-arms gathered for two all-too-brief hours to say a goodbye with a kiss, hug or gentle touch that must last 15 months. “I gave him a present on his birthday,” said Chief Warrant Officer Ramona Hill, indicating little Wilson Hill, born on Oct. 25, held by his daddy with whom he will always share a birthday,...

As security improves in Iraq, pressure is building to reverse one of the most onerous decisions Defense Secretary Robert Gates made to enable President Bush's troop buildup to go forward this year: extending the tours of active-duty soldiers from 12 months to 15 months. The extra three months is a weighty burden, both physically and psychologically, for soldiers already stressed by multiple tours, and on families coping with strains that have mounted since the war began in 2003. "We can't sustain that," Gen. George Casey, who was the top U.S. commander in Iraq before becoming the Army chief of staff...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2007 – About 1,000 members of 10th Mountain Division will deploy to Iraq this spring as replacements for troops due to rotate home, Defense Department officials announced today. The division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., has been alerted of the upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed today. “It was not a surprise. It was more of a confirmation,” Benjamin Abel, the division’s media relations officer, told American Forces Press Service. Since returning from its last deployment in February and March, the unit has received new troops and conducted collective training,...

An amendment to mandate minimum rest times for U.S. troops between deployments faced long odds Wednesday after an influential Republican senator switched his position and said he would vote against it. John W. Warner, R-Va., a senior Armed Services Committee member who voted for the amendment by Jim Webb, D-Va., when it last came to the floor in July, said he had changed his mind. He said the ranks of military specialists are so thin in many positions that commanders on the ground would be seriously hobbled by mandatory “dwell times” between deployments.Bush administration officials have been furiously lobbying moderate...

Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:26:19 GMT From: "Jim Webb" Subject: Stop Burning Out The Troops Dear Friend, This Dwell Time Amendment provides a safety net under our troops. However long a servicemember has been deployed, they deserve at least that much time at home. It is a very simple, common sense amendment. For the sake of our servicemembers and their families, this is the right thing to do. Click here to email your Senators! Today, Senator Chuck Hagel and I will reintroduce an amendment that seeks to provide our men and women in uniform with the responsible rotational cycles...

Soldiers of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SCR), prepare to raise the regimental flag over the headquarters during a transfer of authority event on Camp Liberty, Sept. 8. The 2nd SCR out of Vilseck, Germany, relieved the Arrowhead Brigade, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, out of Fort Lewis, Wash. Photo by Spc. Leith Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. CAMP LIBERTY — The 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SCR) “Dragoons” replaced the 3rd “Arrowhead” Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division as the quick-reaction force for the Iraqi capital Sept. 13, allowing the Arrowhead Soldiers to return home to...

Jim Webb, the loquacious freshman senator from Virginia, is again proposing an amendment that would mandate a certain amount of time that soldiers must spend at home between deployments. At first glance, supporting this amendment looks like supporting motherhood and apple pie — Webb’s stated aim is to take care of America’s soldiers at war, and who could possibly object to that? The amendment, furthermore, gives the president the right to waive the requirement “if the President certifies to Congress that the deployment…is necessary to meet an operational emergency posing a threat to vital national security interests of the United...

Democrats yesterday touted legislation to guarantee troops time at home between deployments to Iraq. snip The measure would require that regular military units returning from the war receive at least as much time at home as they spent in Iraq. Reserve units would get a home stay three times as long as they spent in the war zone

WASHINGTON - Democrats on Saturday touted legislation to guarantee troops time at home between deployments to Iraq. In the party's weekly radio address, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., criticized President Bush for threatening to veto the bill, contending his administration's policies on troop deployments have weakened the military. "The president's surge has sent many of our Army units to Iraq for the second and third time. We are asking our troops to make heroic sacrifices — yet as soon as they return we rush them back into battle," said Tauscher, author of the bill that passed the House Aug. 2 on...

11:49 AM PDT, August 2, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The House today passed a measure to mandate more rest at home for troops serving in Iraq, with Democrats taking another swipe at President Bush's management of the war on the eve of Congress' summer recess. The legislation — which passed 229 to 194, with six Republicans joining the majority — stands little chance of becoming law. A similar proposal sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) was blocked by Senate Republicans last month, and the White House today issued a veto threat. But as lawmakers prepare to go home to face their...