By Chris Sweigart
Associated Press
FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) - The commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division says he doubts the 15-month tours of his soldiers in Iraq will be shortened by plans to withdraw thousands of extra troops by July.Associated Press
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Stumble It!Major General Rick Lynch said today that he told his soldiers and their families they should plan on 15-month deployments.
The 19,000-soldier 3rd Infantry has deployed three combat brigades to Iraq this year, two of which left ahead of schedule as part of President Bush's surge strategy. The division was the first in the Army to be tapped for a third tour in Iraq.
Lynch said at a news conference that the division's 4th Brigade will head to Iraq next month, and will also serve 15 months.
He said the planned reduction of 21,500 troops announced last week by General David Petraeus will be achieved by not replacing other units that leave Iraq or by pushing back the deployments of some units.
Lynch commands an area south of Baghdad that includes a portion of the Iraq-Iran border. He said his troops are living in austere conditions on 29 patrol bases in "the worst areas" once occupied by insurgents. But he said that strategy has paid off.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
