The Army’s top officer said Tuesday he opposes extending soldiers’ combat tours in Iraq beyond the already-extended 15 months. “Any more than that, it puts our soldiers at a level of stress and a level of risk that right now I’m not comfortable with,” Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said at the National Press Club.
Casey, formerly the top commander in Iraq, runs the service most debilitated by the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army has increased combat tours from 12 to 15 months to maintain its force strength in the two theaters.
Casey declined to say when tours might be shortened.
The number of troops in Iraq, now numbering 160,000, will begin to decline this spring when combat brigades are due to rotate out for rest back home. There are not enough available troops to fill all of their places.
“The demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply,” Casey said. “The surge was and remains a temporary function.”
The ultimate goal, he said, is for active duty units to spend three years at home for every year deployed in a combat zone. Reservists would remain stateside for five years for each year overseas.
Casey opposes a Democratic-sponsored House bill that mandates specific rest periods before stateside soldiers can be sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan.
“We prefer not to be limited or restricted by any kind of congressional action,” he said. “It’s hard enough as it is.”
