WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday announced that US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will have their deployment extended from 12 months to 15.
"Effective immediately, active army units now in the Central Command area (Iraq and Afghanistan) and those headed there will deploy for not more than 15 months and will return home to home station for not less than 12 months," said Gates.
The extension is designed to make enough troops available to maintain the "surge" in forces that President George W. Bush announced in January.
The new strategy in Iraq calls for the deployment of nearly 30,000 more US troops in an attempt to secure Baghdad and parts of Al-Anbar province, and halt the rise in sectarian killings.
There are currently 145,000 US troops in Iraq, a number that should rise to 160,000 by June once the reinforcements are in place.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced that it gave orders to 13,000 members of the National Guard to be prepared for possible deployment to Iraq in December.
The new policy applies to all units with the exception of two brigades that had already been extended to 16-month deployments, Gates said.
"This policy is a difficult but necessary interim step that will be kept in place only until we can shift with confidence to the 12-month deployments and 12 months at home and, ultimately, to the rotation goal for Army active duty forces of 12 months deployed and 24 months at home," Gates said.
