The Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today a change in the length of future unit operational deployments from 12 months to nine months. This change will be fully implemented by April 2012, and applies to division-level-and-below units. This policy will not affect personnel or units currently deployed or deploying prior to Jan. 1, 2012. The deployment period for high demand and low density units and individual deployers will remain one year.
Units will deploy for nine months. Some personnel could be there longer (officers and staff involved in handing off between units deploying to theater and coming home?). Units that we don't have a lot of will remain on one-year tours. Units above division could remain a year. I assume that means corps and above headquarters staff and attached units that don't have the same stress of being in combat during their tour.
This is a welcome change that will help keep combat experienced troops in the Army.
UPDATE: Hmmm. Although we've been moving toward 9-month tours for a while, I wonder if the announcement is meant to insulate the Army from blame over anticipated budget cuts that will hurt the ability of the Army to actually implement the 9-month tours. Soldiers who blame the civilians for keeping 1-year tours rather than the Army might be more willing to reenlist, no?
