WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush announced a return to shorter 12-month tours for US Army troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, ending 15-month tours that have strained the force.
"To ease the burden on our troops and families, I have directed the secretary of defense to reduce deployment lengths from 15 months to 12 months for all active army soldiers deploying to the Central Command area of operations," Bush said in a speech.
The changes in military missions to Central Command, which covers Iraq and Afghanistan, will be effective for soldiers deploying after Agugust 1, Bush said.
"We will also ensure that our army units will have at least a year home for every year in the field," Bush added.
The longer tours were imposed a year ago to enable the surge of US forces to Iraq, but the official said they will go back to 12 month deployments in the fall after the last of the surge troops are out of the country.
The speech follows two days of congressional testimony by General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, who recommended that a drawdown of US forces from Iraq be suspended indefinitely once the surge ends in July.
lc/mac
04/10/2008 15:50 GMT