Combat fatigue? In some ways Iraq duty helps Army

Studies in the 1990s also showed that "units deployed on initial contingency operations exhibit higher rates of retention," although prolonged deployments could have an adverse impact, according to Pentagon retention officials. Still, no one can say for sure how far the all-volunteer force can be pushed, and military officials are watching manpower figures carefully. "The longer we operate it at the tempos we have, the greater the challenge will be," the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, warned in November.

Indeed, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks there has been a dramatic increase in US military personnel tempo, which tracks the number of nights individual service members spend away from home. As of November, 51,000 service members had spent more than 400 days away from home over the past two years. Over the same period, more than 310,000 others had spent from 220 to 400 days away, according to Defense Department statistics.

To guarantee fully manned, cohesive units, the Army has imposed "stop loss" orders that have kept thousands of troops on duty after their contracts expire. Currently, the orders block voluntary separations, moves, and retirements for active-duty soldiers who are in war zones, or heading there. This boosted the Army's active-duty manpower, or "end strength," to 500,000 in October, or about 20,000 above the level authorized by Congress.

To head off a possible slump in retention, the Army is using tools such as reenlistment bonuses. Starting Jan. 1, the Army offered bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait who reenlist for at least three years. A flurry of enlistments in response is already making up for a lag in active-duty retention for the first quarter of the 2004 fiscal year, Colonel Manske says. The bonuses also encourage soldiers to stay with the same unit.

In part through such policies, today's large-scale deployments are accelerating the Army's reorganization in several ways:

Unit manning. Bonuses and stop-loss policies designed to keep units together at war are moving the Army toward a new personnel system. In contrast to today's practice of individual assignments, the new system aims to create units that will stay together for about three years.

More expeditionary, modular brigades. Once back from the combat zone, units such as the 3rd Infantry Division will systematically reorganize to create more brigades with new, more standardized capabilities. For example, the Third will go from three brigades to four, each with a mix of armor and infantry as well as enhanced intelligence, military police, civil affairs, and air capabilities.

Even as divisions reorganize, Blount says, the units will be able to meet any sudden contingency. Already this week, about 4,000 troops from the division's 3rd brigade are at in California for a training exercise reportedly designed to simulate combat on the Korean peninsula.

"We're an expeditionary Army, and we'll be deploying a lot," Blount says.

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