Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced this afternoon that all active-duty Army soldiers currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan could serve extended tours of up to 15 months in combat, meaning more than 100,000 troops now at war probably will be kept overseas three months longer than their expected one-year deployments.
The new Pentagon policy also means that tens of thousands of Army troops headed to Iraq and Afghanistan in coming months likely will serve tours 25 percent longer than the one-year tours the Army has had in place for the two conflicts over the past five years.
Gates said the change is necessary to prevent five Army brigades from deploying to combat before they complete a desired 12-month rest period at home and to give predictability to soldiers and their families.
Marine units are still expected to have seven-month deployments followed by six-month rest periods at home.
Longer tours also will not apply to four National Guard brigade combat teams that Defense Department officials have slated to deploy to Iraq later this year or early next year, as Gates said he wants to keep to an earlier policy that would allow reserve units to mobilize for one year followed by a five-year break.
Gates said the extended tours are "a difficult but necessary interim step" toward a policy that would allow the Army to have its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for one-year tours and then have a year off at home. He said the longer deployments also will allow President Bush's "surge" strategy in Baghdad to last a year in case such high force levels are needed in Iraq. "We are creating the capability to keep it in place," Gates said, adding that the surge will last only as long as commanders believe it is effective and necessary, based on conditions in Iraq.
The announcement makes official what had been an ongoing military strategy of keeping force levels up in Iraq, as commanders had sought extensions for several brigades over the past year to maintain pressure on enemy forces, especially in Baghdad. Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference today that the broad-based extensions will provide a predictable and dependable deployment schedule for troops and their families.
The extended tours are also an indication of how much strain has been placed on the Army as a result of repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan for wars that have lasted far longer than expected. Two Army brigades that have already been extended will not have to stay longer as a result of the new policy, Gates said.
"Our forces are stretched, there is no question about that," Gates said. "What we're trying to do here is provide some long-term predictability for the soldiers and their families about how long their deployments will be and how long they will be at home."
Asked if the extended tours in combat zones will be more difficult for soldiers who had anticipated serving a year there, Pace said: "Of course it is."
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Gates's "new policy will be an additional burden to an already overstretched Army."
"I think this will have a chilling effect on recruiting, retention, and readiness. We also must not underestimate the enormous negative impact this will have on Army families," Skelton said.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said the extended tours will expose the volunteer Army to more danger.
"This Administration keeps asking our troops for more--do more without the right equipment, spend more time on deployment even as our generals say there is no military solution to the war in Iraq," Kerry in a statement. " . . . This is the latest sign that the Bush Administration continues to overextend our military to the breaking point."
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