SEE THE CHART HERE
WASHINGTON, DC – The Center for American Progress launched an interactive chart detailing the strain of repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan on the U.S. Army. Division by division, brigade by brigade, the chart breaks down all the available public information on deployment among the Army’s 14 divisions.
After more than four years of combat operations in Iraq and six and a half years in Afghanistan, with a total of over 3,700 American dead and 27,000 wounded in Iraq alone, the Army is severely overstretched and its overall readiness clearly at risk. Sen. James Webb (D-VA) this week will offer key legislation that is vital to rebuilding the strength of our armed forces. Webb’s amendment to the 2008 Defense Authorization bill would require troops to spend at least as much time at home as they spend in combat.
The Webb amendment is an important step toward ensuring our future military readiness and overall national security against the rising threat of global terrorism. It will require that all active-duty troops have at least the same amount of time home as the length of their previous tour overseas. His amendment is also an important moral statement in support of our brave men and women in uniform and on the front lines serving their country abroad.
“The situation facing the ground forces is more than just a strategic crisis—it is a moral one as well. More and more of the burden of the war in Iraq is falling on the men and women in uniform who volunteered to serve this country, and we are putting them in harm’s way without all the preparation and dwell time they deserve,” said Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb.
For further information, please see:
*Beyond the Call of Duty
* Strategic Reset: Reclaiming Control of U.S. Security in the Middle East
* How to Redeploy: Implementing a Responsible Drawdown of U.S. Forces from Iraq
* The Cost of Staying the Course in Iraq