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 ...
Gates just went off on whoever leaked this info to the Washington Post and hopefully when he finds the idiot we’ll see their head hanging on a post.
If Clinton hadn’t cut the standing force to 10 Divisions from 18, there wouldn’t be such a stress on the military.
is this extension just for active duty and not Guard?
Obviously Clinton should not have been elected in 2000.
Not sure; and it may be only for troops in Iraq, so I left nothing off the heading!
I’ve got friends who have husbands who may be affected.
Sending hugs and prayers for you and Jonathan.
And all our troops..
Just active. This is really not a big deal because the active duty either spends the 3 months here or there but either way they’re still active duty.
son is in the Guard and in Iraq....hubby heading there again in July...
Be interesting to see what my son thinks about this. He enlisted in the Army yesterday.
I’m confused...Gates is saying all troops now in Iraq will be extended.
Thank you very much! Maybe we shoulda kept him an endless supply of interns! Or fewer of them...?
Ping to #2. TH sez this was leaked to WaPo and that means it could be retracted!
Four extra months is a very long time in a counterinsurgency type of war like this.
I would rather have and pay for 2 extra active divisions of full time troops than have 6 division of Guard or Reserve.
It takes too long to up train the units to get them up to speed compared to active duty units. I wonder whether the cost of the Guard/Reserve units is worth in in a situation like this.
Good point.
You’re right, he just said the reserves over there now will receive additional compensation meaning they too will be extended.
I’m sure it’s a big deal for those in active duty who would like to see their families.
Bingo. This is entirely CLinton’s fault, and we should never let them forget it.
For an hour or so before the funeral until the remains were escorted out, a group of Patriot Riders stood at attention with American Flags lining both sides of the street.
God loves us so much more than we deserve to have sent men such as these to protect us.
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