Iraq: The Surge Means Longer Army Tours

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Iraq: The Surge Means Longer Army Tours

Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

The Washington Post - Mar 29, 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032802143_pf.html

Increase May Mean Longer Army Tours

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer

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.

"It will be very difficult" to sustain the increase past the summer,
Smith told defense reporters. "The challenges are really in trying to
allow a unit to have enough time at home to train, reset and
reinvigorate themselves, and to not have to extend them too long in
Iraq beyond the one year boots on the ground."

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.

Smith said that if Congress passes legislation that would prevent such
overlapping -- for example, by mandating a minimum "dwell" time at home
for units -- it would force the military to take unacceptable risks in
other areas. "It makes no sense," he said.

"Are we willing to pull our brigade out of Korea?" Smith asked. "Do we
want to send reserve component forces over in ways that don't best meet
their needs?" The vast majority of the Army's active-duty and reserve
units in the United States are now rated not ready to deploy, Army
officials say.

Instead, Smith said, the Army and Marine Corps could cope with the
shortened training time because a large percentage of their forces are
experienced combat veterans who can "train and bring the new guys on
board." "We now have the most experienced force we've had in history,"
he said.

Some Army combat brigades have had to skip rotations at the Army's
premier training center at Fort Irwin, Calif., to deploy ahead of
schedule to Iraq. Instead, teams from Fort Irwin have trained the units
at their home bases. Smith said that training at Fort Irwin, while
desirable, is not essential for learning the counterinsurgency skills
required for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Smith also said that because Marine combat units manage to train for
deployments in seven months, Army units should be able to do the same.
"If seven months [at home] is workable for the Marines, why would you
say the Army has to stay for a year? . . . You can physically do it,"
he said.

© 2007 The Washington Post


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