Army may double up tours
By Natalie J. Mikhail
State Editor
Wisconsin troops who were deployed overseas six months ago may have to spend more time in war zones.
Top army officers recently announced the possibility that significant numbers of U.S. combat soldiers might have to start serving back-to-back overseas tours in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and South Korea. This will be the first time since the all-volunteer army began in 1973.
“All members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard were ordered for one year,” Army National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Donovan said. “It’s possible some [of their duties] will run slightly over.”
“The number of troops [the U.S.] needs is not a technical or political issue,” University of Wisconsin professor emeritus of political science David Tarr said. “America got involved in so many issues abroad that I don’t see any solution in the short-run to reduce the number of troops over there.”
Army planners are currently trying to determine how many troops will have to serve extra tours. Based on the forces they must keep in place overseas, they conclude that there is no choice but to force thousands of troops to return to additional overseas assignments.
“I don’t see any way around it,” Tarr said. “Even those who are opposed to war have to come to the realization that the war happened.”
Army officials worry that extra time spent on these war zones will lower morale and cause a wave of exits throughout the army, especially with experienced, mid-career veterans, including sergeants, staff sergeants and captains who are harder to replace than the younger privates.
Donovan says recruitment in Wisconsin is down a little, but the state’s Army National Guard remains active after almost two full years on duty.
Tarr said the possibility of deploying more troops becomes “politically risky.” It affects the local community and becomes a domestic problem.
Estimates thus far suggest that 15 to 25 percent of the nearly 180,000 troops now overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea may have to do consecutive tours. This number represents more than 60 percent of the Army’s combative forces. As many as 45,000 soldiers will have to double up or remain on duty for months longer.
“The man-power policy runs up against the suggestion that we should spend more money to make it easier for the troops,” Tarr said. “And we already have a deficit that’s extraordinary. It will probably become an issue in the presidential campaign.”
Over the last several months, several hundred Wisconsin soldiers returned.
“We are looking forward to bringing all of our troops home from overseas duty,” Donovan said.
