Massing enough troops for another rotation in Iraq will be "painful"
and may eventually require the Pentagon to adopt policies that would
extend the two-year limit on the mobilization of reserves, a senior
Army leader told Congress yesterday. "Right now we have 650,000
soldiers on active duty executing missions worldwide, and many of them
have met their 24-month cumulative time, so we'll have to address
this," Gen. Richard A. Cody testified before the House Armed Services
Committee. Yesterday's testimony underscored a debate brewing in
the Pentagon over how to meet the long-term demands of the war on
terrorism. The Pentagon now limits reserves to a total of 24 months of
active duty, but the Army is considering seeking an extension to allow
for longer and more frequent deployments of reservists. Cody said the
Army has not asked for a formal change of policy but made it clear that
was under consideration. "We're trying to be very careful before we
make these changes" because they would have broad implications, he said
after the hearing. Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, chief of the Army
Reserve, who also testified, told reporters afterward that he believes
the Army will keep the current limit. "I don't know that a formal
decision has been made; I think, in fact, though, it has," he said. "It
will remain cumulative." The pressure for a broader mobilization
comes as demand for troops in Iraq remains unexpectedly high. Cody
acknowledged that shortly after major combat operations in Iraq were
declared over on May 1, 2003, the Pentagon projected that the number of
brigades required to secure the country would fall from 16 at that time
to 11 by December 2003 and four last year. There are now 20 U.S.
brigades in Iraq, including an increase of about three brigades
deployed only for the period surrounding the Iraqi elections held last
Sunday. [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.