LAT: (National Guard) Troops Could Stay Beyond (24-mo.) Limit

[DeepModem Mom]

THE WORLD
Troops Could Stay Beyond Limit
Pentagon is considering extending the tours of National Guard troops in Iraq who are nearing the 24-month active-duty maximum.

By Mark Mazzetti, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — In yet another sign of the strains on the U.S. military in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war, the Pentagon for the first time is considering extending the mobilization of National Guard soldiers who will soon hit the federal limit of 24 months of active service, defense officials said Tuesday.

Initially, the decision would affect about 450 soldiers of the Arkansas National Guard who are in Iraq with the 39th Brigade Combat Team. The soldiers, mobilized after Sept. 11 and first sent to the Sinai Peninsula on a peacekeeping rotation, are the first group of National Guard troops to approach the 24-month limit that the Pentagon established days after the terrorist attacks in the United States.

Ultimately, however, waiving the limit in this case might lead to extended deployments for thousands of other reservists and National Guard members in Iraq and Afghanistan, and provide ammunition to critics in Congress who are pushing the Bush administration to increase the size of the military.

"Every day it seems to be another improvisational attempt to stretch forces that are already stretched very thin," said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a former paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and an advocate of bolstering the Army's ranks.

But the status of the soldiers, being considered by David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, has not yet been decided, Pentagon officials said....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-guard21jul21,1,3332329.story?coll=la-home-world

[punpirate]

1. Fighting unnecessary wars, and...

... basing so many soldiers overseas might be part of the problem, but everyone would rather have a draft again, I guess.

It's a fact--a country can't have imperial ambitions without having enough troops and the means of paying for them. At this point, we have neither. Compared to what Bush has done in the last thirty-two months or so, intense diplomacy is downright cheap.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. No wonder

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) is touting her Soldier's Bill of Rights in her campaign literature. I've noticed that there has been a change in folks in AR since the Guard has been deployed, and it hasn't been for cheering Bush. The folks I've talked to call him an arrogant illegitimate son and worse.

[teryang]

3. "Another improvisational attempt"

Remember "stretched but not broken, we have a plan?"

I guess this is "the plan."

[leftchick]

4. and as with all of the neo-con plans....

it sucks. Get bush* out NOW! :(

[teryang]

6. Newspeak for juggling act

very creative aren't they? that's why they wear the stars.

[JPace]

5. These poor soldiers are actually prisoners of their own

government. They have contracts that are being
invalidated by the bush regime who does not want
to install a draft until after the election. I
don't understand how any military family could
vote for AWOL this year.

[Rose Siding]

7. They'll run them right into the ground

[lovuian]

8. Was that in the contract Join the Army Forever or till 67!!!

These people didn't realize they signed up to be cheap labor for the Bush Regime

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. Well, no problem right? The are simply guarding the 51st

and most oil rich state. The state of Iraq. Let freedom reign.

[struggle4progress]

10. kick

:kick: