The House Armed Services Committee voted 32 to 25 to send to the full House its bill (H.R. 3159) to provide a minimum time period between deployments to Iraq for both active and reserve forces. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) introduced the measure, which parallels an amendment tacked onto the now-deferred Senate version of the 2008 defense authorization bill. In a joint statement with Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), Tauscher said that the current strategy of “multiple back-to-back deployments has stretched our military and is breaking our all-volunteer force.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
