Gates: Troops Will Serve Longer in Iraq and Afghanistan
Defense secretary Robert Gates held a press conference today to announce that the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will now serve up to 15 months.
Stretched thin by four years of war, the Army is adding three months to the standard yearlong tour for all active-duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, an unpopular step aimed at maintaining the troop buildup in Baghdad.
....Rather than continue to shrink the at-home intervals to a point that might compromise soldiers' preparedness for combat, Gates chose to lengthen combat tours to buy time for units newly returned from battle. ``Our forces are stretched, there's no question about that,'' Gates said.
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