Troops Under Too Much Stress Says Marine Corps Commandant

Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are putting an unacceptable strain on his troops says the new commandant of Marines General James Conway. He wants troops to have more time back home between tours of duty and is looking at giving Marines two months off for every one month deployed in war zones. The General said that the force may need to increase in size to meet commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq and to meet training requirements. There are about 22,000 Marines in the 144,000 strong US military in Iraq and the Marines are way below their target of spending 14 months at home for every seven months of deployment.

Recent research shows that large numbers, up to 1 in 10 Iraq troops show signs of post traumatic stress disorder.

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