A query from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld asking why
the Army and Marine Corps combat tours in Iraq vary in length
has placed the Army on the horns of a dilemma. Officials are
concerned on the one hand about a sharp decline in recruiting
and retention if the Army’s 12-month tours continue, and on
the other hand about maintaining troop strength in Iraq at
138,000 if the tours are shortened. The Army leadership
agrees that 12 months is too long, says Lt. Gen. H Steven
Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. This suggests that
Army combat tour lengths should be cut to something like the
Marines’ seven-month stints. Officials say, however, that it
is too early to predict if or when the tours would be trimmed
or how the transition would be implemented.
