Senior Officials Hopeful About Reduced Army Deployment Lengths

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters on Friday that he is "counting on" going back to 12-month deployments for Army troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, before the end of the year. Last April, the Army increased deployment lengths to the Central Command theater of operations from 12 to 15 months to give Army units their full 12 months respite at home, known as “dwell time.”

Gates is the latest of a line of senior officials who have indicated the possibility of reducing deployment lengths during the past few months. Last July, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Pace, told troops in Afghanistan that deployment lengths could be cut to 12 months, as early as this spring. The current JCS chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen said in November that "Fifteen months is too long. We've got to move off the 15 months." The current Army Chief of Staff, Gen. George Casey said in December that Army deployments could be reduced to 12 months by this summer.