European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pages Sta Sand stripes saturday March 31 2007 general Long surge will lengthen Tours by Ann Scott Tyson the Washington Post sustaining the us troop in crease in Iraq beyond this sum Mer will not be possible without keeping some army combat Bri Gades in the War zone for up to 16 months much longer than the Standard yearlong tour a top us general in charge of the military rotation plans said wednesday air Force Gen Lance Smith head of us joint forces com Mand in Norfolk a also said that if the increase of More than 28000 combat and support troops continues until february there is a High probability that some army units would have less than a year at Home Between combat rotations further compressing the limited time to train and re connect with families it will be very difficult to sus Tain the increase past the sum Mer Smith told defense report ers the challenges Are really in trying to allow a unit to have enough time at Home to train reset and reinvigorate them selves and to not have to extend them too Long in Iraq beyond the one year boots on the ground War demand outpacing predator Fleet and Crews stars and stripes the air Force has lost about 40 percent of its predator unmanned aircraft and lacks enough trained Crews to meet the demand for Battlefield surveil Lance in Iraq and Afghanistan military officials and analysts Tell us today the paper reported in thurs Day editions that the predators Success in spotting enemy activity has become an important asset for troops in the Field commanders ask for predator surveillance three times what the air Force can deliver it col Matthew Bannon chief of unmanned Aerial systems at Lan Gley air Force base in Virginia told Usa today this year predator flight hours Are expected to exceed 70000 hours More than triple the total in 2003 the wars first year the paper reported if you asked me if we had enough people pilots sensor operators Mission coordinators Etc i would Tell you no ban non said the air Force has lost 57 of its 163 unmanned Aerial vehicles a loss rate of about 35 percent maj Thomas Crosson a spokesman for air combat command told stars and stripes on thursday the majority of the avs have been lost to problems with major aircraft systems such As engines computer hardware and computer software Crosson said other factors contributing to crashes include combat Pilot error and weather Crosson stressed that the Nav losses have not Hurt the air forces ability to provide com Manders on the ground with the support they need As avs Are lost they Are re placed Bannon told Usa today that there has been an insatiable appetite for predator in the Field Crew shortages Are More Trou bling than downed aircraft ban non is reported As saying the paper reports that Crew members Are trained at the air Force predator school which graduated 105 Crews in 2006 the air Force expects 120 two member Crews will graduate in 2007 and 148 in 2008 it takes about three months to train a Crew stripes Jeff Schogol contributed to this report from the Pentagon House votes to enhance care for injured troops Washington reacting to shabby treatment of wounded sol Diers at Walter Reed army medi Cal Center the House on wednes Day created a coterie of Case Man agers advocates and Counselor for injured troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the wounded Warrior Assis Tance act approved 4260 also establishes a hot line for medical patients to report problems in their treatment and demands an end to the red tape that has frustrated disabled service members As they move from Pentagon to veterans affairs department care it included an amendment offered by rep Peter Welch Dot that would require the military to step up outreach to veterans and their families about services Avail Able to them the Bill requires Senate action before it goes to the president from the associated press Send a giant 7foot tall Bunny mothers Day bears pfh1 up to 8feet Tah  seryice5 big Pushic pm s hade in Brooklyn fast worldwide shipping say i love you in a big Way big Luscom styles of giant stuffed animals Gen David Petraeus the top us com Mander in Iraq said this month that he is looking at the possibility of continuing the in crease beyond the summer to reinforce Early Progress in Baghdad some us commanders there say they think Smith it will be necessary to keep troop Levels elevated at least until february while others Are warning their troops to be prepared to stay in the country for up to 18 months so far the longest that a combat brigade has been extended in Iraq for the increase is four months in the Case of the Minne Sota National guards 1st brigade combat team of the 34th infantry division the army and Marine corps Are stretched so thin that the Only Way to maintain the higher troop Levels is by overlapping unit rotations the army has deployed 21 of its 39 available Active duty com Bat brigades meaning that virtually All its forces Are either in Iraq or Afghanistan or Are preparing to return there in coming years the army plans to build six More Active duty brigades and also Call More heavily on National guard combat units but those forces will not be ready for the current increase Smith said that if Congress passes legislation that would pre vent such overlapping for example by mandating a minimum dwell time at Home for units it would Force the military to take unacceptable risks in other areas with Piroino code now Drears got a question m m h us 0 lust from we we Tel us mix a thus w Celia t help club hic base my about Aid it will career let a 0ve that spouse Send your questions to issues with debuts april 1 with your weekly scene stars stripes