European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 stars and stripes thursday april 12 2007 Skelton army Hurt by extensions guard Tours by Leo Shane in stars and stripes Washington the chair Man of the House armed services committee worries that propos als announced this week for tour extensions and new National guard deployments to Iraq will further damage army readiness in a letter to Secretary of de sense Robert Gates on tuesday chairman Ike Skelton do questioned whether those plans could be too draining for the army saying it is under enor Mous stress and Strain because of frequent deployments to Iraq on monday the Pentagon announced that four National guard brigade combat teams about 13000 reservists total have been put on Alert for possible deployment to Iraq As Early As de Cember officials also said they Are considering extending the Tours for up to 15000 us troops serving in Iraq if the latest surge of us forces is needed past this summer i write this letter to you with the highest respect and affection for the american Soldier skel ton said in the letter this is a sentiment that i know you share but i must ask you or Secre tary where does this end he added that he is concerned extending Tours in Iraq will Hurt the morale of both the troops and their families and further Hurt Overall army readiness which he said has already been compromised by the Pace of fighting Over seas our no deployed forces Are facing serious readiness challenges As Well he said Skelton asked for assurances that the National guard brigades will be fully trained and prepared if they deploy and have All the equipment required for Force Protection and other Mission Essen tial tasks Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whit Man said he had not seen the letter but said that All units being sent to Iraq Are receiving appropriate preparation the com Manders in the Field have made it Clear that nobody is going to be asked to do anything they Are not trained and equipped to do he said earlier this week Pentagon officials said instead of tour Exten Sions some army units May be rotated into Iraq sooner than planned but they emphasized that both ideas Are still just preliminary plans and not definite actions email Leo Shane at Skelton to extend army Tours by Leo Shane m stars and stripes Washington army units deployed to Iraq will serve up to 15month Tours instead of the Standard 12 months overseas Secretary of defense Robert Gates announced wednesday the move would affect a Tiv duty soldiers already in coun try and future deployments to Iraq with the exception of two army units whose Tours in Iraq have already been extended reservists and marines would not see their tour lengths changed without this action we would have had to deploy five brigades earlier than their planned 12 months at Home Gates said i believe it is fair to All soldiers that All share the Burden equally Gates said the move is not connected to the latest surge of forces into Iraq but instead related to the difficulty of insuring that All units receive a full 12 months at Home after their Over seas Tours he said the new 15month Tours will insure All units will see that full year at Home once their deployments Are finished our forces Are stretched there is no question about that he said currently about 145000 us troops Are stationed in Iraq Charles Dhara Pavan defense Secretary Robert Gates briefs reporters at the Pentagon on thursday plans Call for More than 160000 when the buildup is Complete in Early summer in addition to the tour Exten Sions defense officials this week announced that 13000 National guard troops were ordered to pre pare for possible deployment to Iraq As Early As december i realize this decision will ask a lot of our army troops and their families he said in the end i believe this new approach will allow the army to better support the War Effort while providing a More predictable and depend Able deployment schedule Gates said the soldiers will receive an additional financial compensation for the three extra months in theater army officials Are scheduled to release addition Al details on the tour extensions on thursday on wednesday Iraq spokes Man Ali Aldabbagh spoke out against the premature withdrawal of us troops saying that would create an Opportunity for Iran and the Al Aida terror net work to make inroads in Iraq Aldabbagh asked at a news conference at the United states Institute for peace a us govern men funded research group about congressional efforts to Force a pullout of us combat troops said they should finish the Job he said no iraqi wants us forces to stay a Long time but there is a Job to be done with Iraq approval he said some troops could be safely withdrawn later this year or Early in 2008 but he said the premature withdrawal of american troops will create a vacuum and Iran is a danger and Al Aida is a Dan the associated press contributed to this Story email Leo Shane at april t 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