In a memo to top military officials dated Sept. 20, 2001, Chu established the 24-month policy to ensure that deployments abroad would not place an excessive strain on reservists and National Guard troops unaccustomed to a life of active duty.
The 39th Brigade Combat Team -- made up of National Guard troops from several states -- is a mechanized infantry unit currently based in Taji, about 10 miles north of Baghdad. When the unit went to Iraq in April, commanders were aware that hundreds of its soldiers would hit their 24-month limit while they were deployed there, most beginning in September.
As a result, Brig. Gen. Ronald Chastain, the brigade's commander, filed a request with the Pentagon to extend the soldiers' tours. Chu is considering that waiver request.
Since the 39th Brigade Combat Team entered Iraq, 13 soldiers from the unit have been killed by enemy attacks, said Capt. Kristine Munn, a unit spokeswoman.
Five were killed in a single weekend, four of those when mortar rounds hit the brigade's compound in Taji.
If the Defense Department retains the 24-month limit, those Arkansas National Guard troops whose active duty commitments are set to expire would be free to return home. They also would have the option of volunteering to remain in Iraq on active duty, defense officials said.
In the corridors of the Pentagon, a major concern is that the tempo of deployments since the Sept. 11 attacks will ultimately take its toll on retention and recruitment both in the active service and the reserves. Thus far, the Army has been able to meet recruiting goals for the active force, but is falling short of its 2004 target numbers for the National Guard.
There are now more than 131,000 Army National Guard troops and reservists on active duty, in most cases for 15- to 18-month stints.
Yet even as the Pentagon struggles to meet its global commitments, top defense officials repeatedly have said that there is no cause to expand the size of the military, as some lawmakers from both parties have been urging.
"There's folks in the Pentagon who refuse to admit that we're in for a long time in Iraq and Afghanistan," Reed said.
The Senate last month voted overwhelmingly to increase the Army by 20,000 soldiers, and the House voted for a 30,000-troop increase. The White House maintains its opposition to a permanent increase.
