Army wants reservists for longer tours [View All]

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6796550/

Stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is considering a National Guard and Reserve policy shift that could result in part-timers’ being called to active duty multiple times for up to two years each time, a senior Army general said Thursday.

The officer, who discussed the matter with a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity because the matter has not been fully settled inside the Defense Department, said the Army would probably ask Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to change the policy in the next several months.

<snip>

Under current policy, set by Rumsfeld, a Guard or Reserve member is not to serve on active duty for more than 24 total months. Thus, for example, if a Guard or Reserve member was mobilized for six months after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and later for nine months in Afghanistan, then that person is off limits for duty in Iraq because a yearlong tour there would exceed the 24-month limit. A standard tour in Iraq, for both active-duty and reserve forces, is 12 months.

If the limit were set at 24 consecutive months, with some break between tours, then in theory a Guard or Reserve member could be mobilized for multiple 12- or 24-month tours in Iraq or elsewhere.