For perspective, consider the combat of the 2nd Battalion of the 47th Inf. Regt. in WWII: land in France just after D-Day, immediately swing back to slug it out in front of Cherbourg, then turn and proceed across NW Europe through a climate which is initially hot, gradually becoming miserably cold. Adapt to terrain that ranges from flat and open to the ruggedness of the Ardennes, all the while facing artillery, mortars,
panzerfaust, tanks, assault guns, mines, rockets and whatever else a determined Wehrmacht can bring to bear. Do this this for 234 days straight, stop to collect a second Presidential Unit Citation following a mess in front of the Roer River, and then face East, and battle across the Rhine before the Ludendorff Bridge collapses. Continue fighting on into the Reich until the surrender on May 8.
Then imagine your surprise at being "requested" to now be part of the Army of Occupation. Just think- over ten months of combat, invariably also dealing with a civilian population that ranges from ecstatic to homicidal, only to mop up and play cop... with no cell phones.
S**t deployments are nothing new. Only the ability and/or the will to deal with them change.
Yeah, but we also had 80+ divisions & rotated units into and out of the line; both whole divisions and regiments/battalions. We can push the guys pretty hard & the majority will soldier on, but eventually people just plain get worn out.
Irrespective of whether or not the troops get tired, just look at how we're committed in the post above. The army is just too small right now. We have darn little flexibility if Mr Whacky in North Korea causes trouble or something completely unforeseen occurs somewhere.