Army soldiers to serve 15-month extended tours in Iraq

Looks like the Bush administration is well on their way towards completely destroying the Army. From The Washington Post:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced this afternoon that all active-duty Army soldiers currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan could serve extended tours of up to 15 months in combat, meaning more than 100,000 troops now at war probably will be kept overseas three months longer than their expected one-year deployments.

The new Pentagon policy also means that tens of thousands of Army troops headed to Iraq and Afghanistan in coming months likely will serve tours 25 percent longer than the one-year tours the Army has had in place for the two conflicts over the past five years.

Gates said the change is necessary to prevent five Army brigades from deploying to combat before they complete a desired 12-month rest period at home and to give predictability to soldiers and their families.

So instead of 12-month tours, the more than 100,000 troops will be kept in Iraq for 15 months. The Army cannot find enough bodies to replace their already worn-out troops, so they've been lowering their standards for recruits. The Army has had to offer bigger bonuses, and raise the age limit to make up for the falling enlistment numbers. There is even a strange idea of allowing foreign citizens to join the U.S. Army as a fast-track means of gaining U.S. citizenship. And while the Army was able to achieve their recruiting goals for 2006, the Army can only lower their standards so far before they realize the sad truth that young Americans are not joining the military because of this unpopular war in Iraq. This breakdown in the Army is starting to show with this 15-month extended tour being forced on the troops.

It is going to get worst over the next year.