Chance of a Short Trip Home for Soldiers on Yearlong Tour

[JewelDigger]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/11/politics/11AIRB.html?ex=1061179200&en=ebc84c149acf35f5&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

---snip---

The commander of the 101st Airborne Division, which is on patrol in northern Iraq, has proposed an unusual holiday that would allow his troops to visit home once in their lengthy tours of duty.

In a letter to families of the division's troops, the commander, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, wrote of his efforts to fly the soldiers back to the United States for up to two weeks of leave after they are midway through a 12-month deployment.

---snip---

[Drifter]

1. Curious to see how many ...

will turn up AWOL.

More importantly, it will be interesting to see how they will be punished.

Cheers
Drifter

[proud patriot]

2. that's exactly what I was thinking

opens up a whole cans of worms there ..

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. was thinking the same

Bet they won't be counting x # of days and a wake up call, 'til their return to the Hell on Earth that Bush* has made for them.

[trogdor]

4. Interesting thought

When I was in Korea, we sometimes took bets on whether certain soldiers would put in for compassionate reassignments stateside when they went on their mid-tour leaves. Some of them managed to stay stateside for two or three months doing some bullshit job at Fort McCoy, WI, or someplace.

[Ohio Dem]

3. Do you really think they will give these soldiers a chance

to come home and "run their mouths" about the conditions in Iraq? If these people do come home for a couple of weeks, you just know that they'll tell everybody that will listen what's going on over there. And each of them will be on the local television, being local heroes and all. I don't think the administration will ever allow it.