Pentagon abandons active-duty time limit DU THIS IS A HUGE DEAL

[helderheid]

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer Fri Jan 12, 7:02 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq.



The day after President Bush announced his plan for a deeper U.S. military commitment in Iraq, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the change in reserve policy would have been made anyway because active-duty troops already were getting too little time between their combat tours.

The Pentagon also announced it is proposing to Congress that the size of the Army be increased by 65,000, to 547,000 and that the Marine Corps, the smallest of the services, grow by 27,000, to 202,000, over the next five years. No cost estimate was provided, but officials said it would be at least several billion dollars.

Until now, the Pentagon's policy on the Guard or Reserve was that members' cumulative time on active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted; the remaining limit is on the length of any single mobilization, which may not exceed 24 consecutive months, Pace said.

In other words, a citizen-soldier could be mobilized for a 24-month stretch in Iraq or Afghanistan, then demobilized and allowed to return to civilian life, only to be mobilized a second time for as much as an additional 24 months. In practice, Pace said, the Pentagon intends to limit all future mobilizations to 12 months.

MORE >>>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_military

[helderheid]

1. .

[LiberalFighter]

34. Gee... I wonder how that will effect prospects for enlistment?

[ClintonTyree]

49. I was going to say....

that enlistments will skyrocket after this bit of news. :sarcasm: They can't meet their recruitment goals as it is, how in hell are they going to INCREASE the size of the Army and Marines with "Little Boots" throwing temper tantrums and starting more wars than he has people to fight them?
Our country spends too damned much on defense as it is. The Pentagon has become the most bloated money pit in the history of the world and should be drastically DOWNSIZED, not increased. Our Armed Forces are meant for defense from enemies, not as an Empire building force at the beck and call of a petty tyrant like Bush.
Chop the Pentagon's budget in half right off the bat. I'm sick and tired of feeding the never sated, bloated military industrial war machine while social programs are starved out of existence. In the "guns or butter" argument guns have always won out over butter. It's time to reverse that for once and for all.

[nam78_two]

2. K&R.nt

[helderheid]

3. thank you. This is a huge deal.

[helderheid]

4. at least I think so!

[helderheid]

5. Am I wrong? Is this not a HUGE deal? I'm surprised this isn't the big news on DU today

[JHB]

22. It's huge, but WHY it's huge requires a little explanation...

...not something where youcan take it all in by just the headline.

1) It's another "screw the troops" measure;

2) It's going to further degrade the Guard & Reserves, since they're being used for "war on the cheap" fodder, not being mostly held back for a real war (i.e., one with large-scale national mobilization and calls for sacrifice).

Let's just bleed all our "first responders" dry. Sheesh!

[helderheid]

23. Thanks for this - very plain and easy to understand.

[mandyky]

6. When active duty soldiers ETS before they serve 6 years,

they are inactive Reserves until 6 years is up. Watch Bush use this as a stop loss weasel around the contract. My son is due to get out this summer, after 3 years active Army service, but he will be on inactive reserve for 3 years. This will be the first step in the draft, if it comes...

[helderheid]

7. It was front page news here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3105664&mesg_id=3105664

[helderheid]

8. I pray your son won't be called back.

[helderheid]

9. talking about this on c-span 3 now

[helderheid]

10. !

[helderheid]

11. I give up

:shrug:

[doublethink]

12. Never give up ... Never Surrender !

:) ... just gave this it's 5th rec. off to the GP with you...... thank's helderheid for your informative and relevant posts. Keep it up, and fight on! Peace.

:kick:

[helderheid]

13. Bless your heart!

:pals:

[Sapphire Blue]

14. #5 - Get thee to the Greatest Page! This is important!

:hug: Thank you so much for posting this, helderheid!

[helderheid]

15. thank you sweetheart!

:hug:

[proud patriot]

16. will they ever be allowed home again?

[helderheid]

47. This truly could be the breaking point for the * administration. These families have sacrificed so

much - they can't be asked to sacrifice anymore and I do believe the outrage will be unimaginable and un-containable.

[SalviaBlue]

17. Yes, this is a huge deal

Thanks for posting helderheid.

[PA Democrat]

18. K & R. Everyone needs to know what these evil

bastards are up to.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. K&R

[lovuian]

20. This is how he gets his troops its so wrong

Terrible

[Hubert Flottz]

21. K & ARRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

He won't get me again.



Bushler is running out of time.

The GOP and Bush are too cowardly, to do what they should do, if they want to keep on fighting. Bush is putting POLITICS ahead of real support for the troops. It's bad enough for the troops to fight for one year over a pack of lies. Bush expects the troops to go back three or four times. That is in no way, doing what is best for the troops.

[robertpaulsen]

24. Kicked to the top & recommended! Damn right it's a huge deal!

:kick:

[helderheid]

25. thank you!

[Hubert Flottz]

26. One More Time...

:kick:

[helderheid]

40. you're great - we're on PAGE 1!

[nam78_two]

27. kick.nt

[meuniermr]

28. A lot more troops are going to resist deployment over this..eom.

[katty]

29. Pack a bag and get out of the U.S. NOW-by any means possible

[katty]

30. MAJOR HUGE DEAL

[mentalsolstice]

31. Back door, front door, sliding glass door...

Pretty soon there will be no doors. Advice to those who are draft age...get thee out of the country NOW!

K&R!

[helderheid]

32. yes you said it!

[The Wielding Truth]

33. There needs to be soldiers rights. They are not slaves. They enter

into an agreement were they are to uphold their promises,but their Commander in Chief uses them as fodder. I, too, would like to know,

"For what noble cause"?

[welshTerrier2]

35. "Hey, I'm your Uncle Sam ... you can trust me."

involuntary servitude by any other name is still a draft ... heck, this isn't a draft, it's a hurricane ...

if the troops are as committed to the mission as we're told, it shouldn't be necessary to FORCE THEM to remain, should it?

sounds like many of them want out ...

so, knowing this, who wants to volunteer ???

[helderheid]

36. this isn't a draft, it's a hurricane ...

:applause:

[Rex]

37. Sounds like facsim on the rise.

Well that settles it, the Pentagon runs America. Prove me wrong Congress. The Military Industrial Complex is in charge of US citizens, ultimately. There you have it folks, they want to build a massive military force that are no better than serfs. At least in the past you could get out if you didn't like it, not anymore.

[helderheid]

38. it's SO fucked up. Beyond fucked up.

[pwb]

39. in 2001 many joined our military to fight osama.

they got fucked by bush and forced to fight in iraq. they have six or seven years of commitment after enlisting. this year and next we will see many troops leave. then our military will be broken. nobody wants to fight a war of choice.

[bdamomma]

41. those troops did join to get Osama who is of no interest for Mr. Bush

Mr. Bush is making more enemies than friends, but remember what he said he doesn't care if all that is left is Laura and Barney, he is a very sick man. He needs to be removed.

[helderheid]

42. As soon as humanly possible.

[Zambero]

43. Time to freshen up those yellow magnets!

Not to worry, regardless of what Bush does to make life for military families unendingly difficult, we can always make sure the troops are adequately "supported" with a little old .99 store yellow ribbon magnet affixed to the rear of the GMC, Hummer, SUV, etc. It sure beats paying whatever extra taxes it would take to prevent V.A. benefits from getting slashed (again)! Geez, how on earth could anyone NOT be a Republican?

[immortalstar_2007]

44. Short enough to walk under a snake with a top hat on!

Viet Nam era brag, it meant: "going home soon, thank God!" How many guys who find their tour extended by 125 days are going to die on one of those 125 days? How many soldiers are going to die in the "second 365" the Pentagon is talking about? And what about the ones who survive two years of shooting at this, that, and everything else, and then they get out and they are walking down the streets of America and mad about not finding a job, or being short of money, or have some problem that they don't quite know how to solve any more because they've been solving problems for two years by just shooting off their guns? What happens to those guys and the people they might get "mad" at? If you think only the guys in the military have a problem with this, ask yourself what you would do if some "off the wall" dischargee goes off with an M16, or any other small arms fire, just fifty yards from you on an American street? If that happens, we won't worry about "terrorists" quite as much as Congressmen and the President think we will. We will be worrying more about our own "broken swords". And wonder how we got to where we fear our own more than any others.

"Short enough to have to climb a ladder to tickle a snake's belly!" Man, that's short! And now no one in Iraq is that short. Morale? "Get a haircut!" Wonder if THAT's changed. Hope so. Or there are real, real, real problems ahead for them as well as all the rest of us. We are not an island. And the bell is tolling.

[ClintonTyree]

50. Great post, and welcome to DU!

:hi: It's always nice to have our veterans, the ones who know the true cost of war, join the debate. You're 100% correct in everything you say. These poor, over-used soldiers are at the end of their ropes. Who knows what problems are going to arise after they finally get home for good (if ever). It's a scary thought and with Bush cutting Veterans' benefits to pay for his tax cuts for the rich it's going to be a real mess.
Again, welcome! :)

[tabasco]

45. Our Founders were strongly opposed to a large standing army.

The neocons are destroying the Guard and Reserves and creating a large standing army.

The only ones that support this are those who think Bush and Cheney are smarter than Jefferson and Madison.

[seesdifferent]

46. Pentagon gave Bush casualty estimates; he's hiding them; no wonder

http://seesdifferent.wordpress.com/2007/01/13/pentagon-doubling-of-us-casualties-estimated-with-surge/

[helderheid]

48. 2 things - WELCOME to DU and PLEASE POST this in a separate post! People need to see this!

[ClintonTyree]

51. That article deserves a post of it's own....

you should post it for all to see. Next we'll hear that Bush had no knowledge of this and that it's all the Generals fault that his "surge" was so costly in terms of American lives. But what the hell does he care? None of HIS family is going to fight his war, just the sons and daughters of people that aren't in his 'class'.
I never thought I could hate an individual as much as I hate George Bush. I didn't think it was possible to have that much bile within me but the, "uniter, not a divider", has brought out the very worst in me. :grr:

[helderheid]

53. I completely agree! Post that on it's own thread - too important to miss!

[helderheid]

57. seesdifferent, you have your own thread and look at the recommends!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3117014&mesg_id=3117014

[westerebus]

52. Enough already!

OK mr bush,you win. It's total war! No more studies,meetings, or consultations. Total absolute war! Now, right NOW!
Draft every body! Male and Female alike with no regard to race, creed, color, ethnic origin, religion, or sexual persuasion. Every body. NO Exemptions. NONE! Your kids too! Their cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles, eighteen to forty years old.
Come on, you know what its going to take. Four hundred thousand US boots on the ground in Iraq. You want to win don't you? Well let's win!
Might as well go for Iran while we're right there. That's about a million more. If we don't plan to stick around for the "candy and flowers". What the hell, Syria too!
Just tell the troops its a free fire zone and we're not interested in taking prisoners. The faster they destroy the "networks" the quicker they can come home.
We can rotate them in and out of combat in country. Keeps the edge on. Secure base to downtown Mosul or Tehran. Just keep shipping them over there. Ninety day basic training and your good to go.
Rant over with. Get the troops out. OUT NOW!

[helderheid]

54. Welcome to DU!

[me b zola]

55. Perpetual active duty for reservists

They will now be deployed 23 1/2 months, get leave for a short period, then back to active duty. This will stop recruitment dead in it's tracks.

Is there anything left for * to break? :grr:

[ellisonz]

56. K & R

:-(