One of Ours

...The extended, or repeated, deployments that characterize the post-9/11 Army have intensified the burdens traditionally borne by military families. And most of the spouses who have remained behind are wondering how long the Army can keep it up...

...While most of them said they have coped well, three-quarters said they believed that the Army may hit a personnel crisis as soldiers and their families tire of the pace and leave for civilian lives...

...in the war on terrorism, the Army is becoming increasingly expeditionary — that is, based in the United States but prepared to take on a stream of new missions overseas. “That’s the business we’re going to be in for a while,” said Col. Michael Resty, the garrison commander at Fort Carson, Colo. “Anybody who thinks differently is fooling themselves.”

The strain on troops and their families has led some in Congress to advocate a big boost in the size of the active-duty Army, which stands at about 485,000 troops.

The Pentagon is planning to add 30,000 soldiers over the next several years, but before agreeing to further expansion, it wants to see whether the other steps it is taking will ease the strain. Most notably, the Pentagon is reorganizing divisions to expand the number of the Army’s deployable brigades from 33 to 48. In addition, the Army has announced a new policy under which troops will serve longer tours at bases, permitting their families to put down deeper roots...

...Tom Donnelly, a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee. Donnelly said he expects that 2005 will be “the make-or-break year,” as some soldiers who have already served in Iraq for a year are sent back for a second tour...