Pentagon using more troops for combat

Published: Aug. 11, 2008 at 7:46 AM
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A U.S. Soldier (L) form Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division and a Sons of Iraq member provide security during a veterinary operation in Baghdad, Iraq on May 11, 2008.   (UPI Photo/David J. Marshall/U.S. Army)
A U.S. Soldier (L) form Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division and a Sons of Iraq member provide security during a veterinary operation in Baghdad, Iraq on May 11, 2008. (UPI Photo/David J. Marshall/U.S. Army) | Enlarge Enlarge
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Defense revealed it's sending a bigger percentage of its troops into combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some 57 percent of active-duty soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors were deployed to the combat zones in June, compared with 50 percent of the Pentagon's troops in June 2006, USA Today reported Monday.

The biggest jump has come in the Army, where 68 percent of its soldiers were in Afghanistan and Iraq in June compared to 58 percent two years ago. A further 10 percent are in training and soon will be eligible for a combat deployment, Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman, told the newspaper.

Another big increase has come in the number of soldiers who have served multiple tours in the combat zones. That figure is 31 percent of U.S. soldiers compared with 20 percent in 2006, USA Today said.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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