Increase May Mean Longer Army Tours

[maddezmom]

Source: Washington Post

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 29, 2007; Page A15

Sustaining the U.S. troop increase in Iraq beyond this summer will not be possible without keeping some Army combat brigades in the war zone for up to 16 months -- much longer than the standard year-long tour, a top U.S. general in charge of the military's rotation plans said yesterday.

Air Force Gen. Lance Smith, head of U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, also said that if the increase of more than 28,000 combat and support troops continues until February, there is a "high probability" that some Army units would have less than a year at home between combat rotations, further compressing the limited time to train and reconnect with families.

~snip~
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said this month that he is looking at the possibility of continuing the increase beyond the summer to reinforce early progress in Baghdad. Some U.S. commanders there say they think it will be necessary to keep troop levels elevated at least until February, while others are warning their troops to be prepared to stay in the country for up to 18 months. So far, the longest that a combat brigade has been extended in Iraq for the increase is four months, in the case of the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division.


The Army and Marine Corps are stretched so thin that the only way to maintain the higher troop levels is by overlapping unit rotations. The Army has deployed 21 of its 39 available active-duty combat brigades -- meaning that virtually all its forces are either in Iraq or Afghanistan or are preparing to return there. In coming years, the Army plans to build six more active-duty brigades and also call more heavily on National Guard combat units, but those forces will not be ready for the current increase.




Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032802143.html

[rodeodance]

1. NO--NO---Gates said this surge would be over by early fall--Now

we see this. I know this issue has been out there-but this is the strategy all along!!---get more troops out there and then say Support the troops!!

[Orsino]

2. By *definition* it means longer tours...

...or more frequent but shorter tours. Escalating a war means more fighting.

[AnneD]

3. If our troops weren't the professionals they are.....

they would be openly defying orders. I'd look for more turning C/O. As an ex Reservist, this chaps my ass beyond belief.

To all my brothers and sisters in arms-I willbe hitting the streets again. When you see protesters against the war....Remember, we protest the war-not you guys. We want you home!