In an effort to boost our military strength in Iraq and deal a decisive blow to the insurgency, President Bush authorized a substantial build up of troops in Iraq.  His original request was for an additional 21,500 troops to be sent to Iraq by the end of June.  Since February 14^th, the US military has increased its activity in Baghdad and the surrounding areas helping to sharply decrease terrorist activity.  The significant boost in the number of troops in Iraq has no doubt had a positive impact on these security missions and it is likely that General Petraeus, the top US military commander in Iraq, will request that the current build up be sustained into next year.  However, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have dragged on, it is becoming more difficult for the Pentagon to find fresh troops for these deployments. 

Many units are now facing their second and sometimes even their third combat deployments.  This has defense officials scrambling to find troops who are available and adequately trained for deployment.  Units currently deployed to Iraq face the possibility of being extended for up to three months and stateside units scheduled for deployments may be sent earlier than expected in order to maintain the increased level of troop strength. 

Defense officials have tried to set deployment schedules that would allow service members to be home for a full twelve months before redeploying, but that schedule may be impossible to maintain in the face of a sustained military build up.   This has very real consequences for our service members and their families.   The men and women facing repeated deployments to combat areas run the risk of battle fatigue and exhaustion.   

And though it is much less talked about, repeated deployments also take a very real toll on the families of the troops sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan.   Families experience the worry and fear of knowing a loved one is in harm’s way.   Repeated deployments put stress on military marriages and demand a special kind of sacrifice from those left behind.   

The Pentagon and defense officials must walk a fine line between giving our military the force it needs to win in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also give our individual service members the time they need to recover from previous combat deployments.  If they ask too much from our troops and their families, we will start seeing our experienced service members leaving the military.