If you haven’t deployed yet, stand by

[unhappycamper]

Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division prepare to clear a house in Ar Raqqah, Iraq, last year. Human Resource Command officials are currently seeking nondeployers not just to get them into the fight, but also to clear some institutional billets to assign to combat vets so they can get out of the rotation grind.


If you haven’t deployed yet, stand by
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Feb 24, 2008 9:31:44 EST

Officers at Human Resources Command are drilling deep into branch personnel data, mining for soldiers who have yet to pull a combat tour so that those eligible can be served with a set of deployment orders.

Their target population comes from a pool of about 37,000 active-duty officers and enlisted soldiers, or 7.2 percent of the component, who are available to do a rotation in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The HRC effort to identify soldiers for first-time deployments evolved last year as the relentless demand for troops to rotate into Iraq and Afghanistan required many soldiers to serve repeat combat tours.

After more than six years of fighting in Afghanistan, and nearing the five-year mark in Iraq, the Army is exhausted. Soldiers are weary, family members are fed up, gear is worn out and readiness levels are suffering.

HRC officials are seeking nondeployers not just to get them into the fight, but also to clear some institutional billets to assign to combat vets so they can get out of the rotation grind for a couple of years.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/army_deploy_080225w/

[acmavm]

1. Ah! More warm bodies for two lost causes.