Casey Says Army ‘Stretched,’ 15-Month Tours Can’t Be Guaranteed

FORT BLISS, Texas (AP) – After five years of war, the U.S. Army is stretched thin and long deployments are taking a toll on soldiers and their families, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Tuesday.

Casey, who became the 36th Army chief of staff in April, said the continuing war in Iraq has put so much pressure on the Army that limiting deployments to 15 months can’t be guaranteed.

“I had that same question from the families today and what I told them was I can’t guarantee that it won’t go beyond 15 months,” Casey said, following a tour of the far West Texas post and meetings with soldiers and families stationed there.

“However, I am personally concerned about the impact on the soldiers operating in that environment (Iraq), of asking them to stay there longer than 15 months.” He said he would do everything he can “to ensure that we don’t put them additionally at risk.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month that an extension of the current 15-month deployments, a change from the traditional 12-month tour of duty that Gates ordered earlier this year, was a “worst-case-scenerio” that he did not anticipate.

Despite the strain, Casey said the Army is far from broken. “The force is stretched. I don’t think there is any question about it,” Casey said. “But it’s a very vibrant force. There’s a lot of questions about a broken Army, and that is not the case.”

He said Army officials will soon announce plans to give more money to programs that help family members of deployed soldiers cope with the long deployments.

Casey, who lead the Multinational Force in Iraq from July 2004 through February 2007, toured Fort Bliss as part of an ongoing effort to assess to the state of the Army, both stateside and abroad, in the midst of the largest organizational transformation since World War II.

Fort Bliss, a 1.2-million acre post just outside El Paso, is expecting an influx of several thousand soldiers in the next few years and will eventually be home to the Army’s 1st Armored Division.

He said he was impressed with progress of the Fort Bliss expansion, a project with an estimated $3 billion price tag, both at the post and in the surrounding city. Casey, who was headed next to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., did not tour El Paso but he was briefed by city leaders.

In his brief meeting with reporters, Casey also said that recruitment efforts were also a concern. “It obviously is something that we have to pay very close attention to, but it is a very difficult recruiting environment” Casey said.

The Army is planning to add about 40,000 full-time troops by 2012. While the Army missed its recruiting goals in May and June, Casey said the overall recruitment numbers for the year were still ahead of Army goals.

But new efforts, including more advertising and other recruitment programs, are being created to ensure that there is not a shortfall of troops.

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-07-10-07 1732EDT