Army To Cut Tour Lengths; BCT Strength in Iraq

Iraq tours for soldiers will be reduced to 12 months from 15 months in July, and the number of brigade combat teams (BCTs) in the country will drop to 15 from a surge high of 20, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, told lawmakers during an April 1 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The changes are necessary in order to ensure that soldiers can continue to do their jobs, Casey said. "The cumulative effects of the last six-plus years at war have left our Army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to properly sustain our all-volunteer force and restore our flexibility for an uncertain future," he told senators. One piece of possible fallout from the planned reductions: Stop-loss may be around for awhile. Army Secretary Pete Geren told lawmakers that keeping the 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers now still in uniform under the policy may be the best way to meet mission requirements in Iraq after July.