”Shorten the tours!”  Those are the words (well, paraphrased anyway) from Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee to Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff.  In a memo dated October 8, Brownlee asked for a plan to be put in place ASAP to shorten tours for deployed and deploying troops.  The catch?  The insurgency, which has been an ongoing problem for US and Iraqi forces, must be under control before such a plan is considered feasible.  However, it is hoped that this will soon be the case, as Iraqi forces grow in strength and number and the Iraqi national elections are completed to put a more stable government in place.

The actual length of the tours is not yet determined.  The Army used to deploy for 6 month tours, while the Marines are currently serving 7 month stints.

In any case, this plan should be provide some relief for both families and soldiers once it is implemented.