Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a Vietnam War veteran, unveiled legislation Monday that would increase the time military troops spend in the United States between deployments.
Webb, whose son has served in Iraq with the Marine Corps, wants to end the current military policy of deploying active-duty troops for 15 months and then giving them a year at home.
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Webb’s plan would require troops to spend the same amount of time at home as their deployment period. For example, a soldier or Marine deployed to Iraq for 15 months could then not be sent to combat again for at least 15 months. National Guard troops and military reservists would have to stay home three times as long as their deployment period. So a guardsman sent to Afghanistan for a year could not be deployed again for three years.
“We are burning out our ground forces,” said Webb, who introduced his proposal as an amendment to a defense spending bill the Senate is considering this week. “We are seeing it in falling retention of experienced combat veterans and an increase in mental health issues arising from multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without adequate recovery time.”
The White House opposes any attempt to restrict President Bush’s abilities to move troops in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Critics also contend that lengthening the amount of time between deployments would force a withdrawal because the military does not have adequate manpower.
