Washington – The Army’s top general said Tuesday that lengthening U.S. tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan beyond the current 15 months would be too stressful and risky for troops.
Gen. George Casey also said he didn’t know when officials would be able to cut the length of soldiers’ tours back to 12 months.
“I don’t see going beyond the 15 months,” Casey said. “I’ve been there in Iraq, I’ve watched the nature of the combat and the stresses and strains that it puts on these soldiers.”
He said the 90-day extension ordered by officials this year can go quickly.
“Any more than that, it puts our soldiers at a level of stress and a level of risk that right now I’m not comfortable with,” he told reporters in an appearance at the National Press Club.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody said earlier Tuesday that troops may be facing the longer deployments at least until next June. Cody said officials are assessing the issue, but it would take at least until then to return average deployments to 12 months while maintaining the roughly 160,000 troops in Iraq.
