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Mullen: Op tempo to quicken before it eases

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The overall pace of U.S. military operations is likely to speed up over next 24 months as officials struggle to reduce the force in Iraq, quell insurgent violence in Afghanistan and build out new fighting units in the Army and Marine Corps, the nation’s top officer told troops at two bases Thursday.

“The pace is pretty quick — the pace here, the pace around the world,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a joint-service audience at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. “I’d like to stand here this morning and say it’s going to change. I don’t think it’s going to change at all. I think if anything, it’s probably going to quicken for awhile.”

Later, he added, “I recognize the stress that we’re under. We’re in a pretty delicate time; the next 24 months is pretty tough.”

He mentioned the figure during a similar “town hall” meeting at Fort Campbell, Ky., later in the day after repeating his oft-expressed desire to increase the time troops spend at home between deployments, known as dwell time.

“The challenge that we have over the next 24 months or so is a very delicate balance between the number of forces in Iraq, growing the number of forces in Afghanistan, and getting you enough time at home so that you can have a life,” Mullen said.

Mullen said he expects it will take another 12 to 18 months before officials can start to significantly increase dwell time.

A U.S.-Iraq agreement calls for specific timelines for U.S. troop withdrawals, including removing all combat troops from cities and towns by the end of June and all troops from the country by December 2011. It remains to be seen whether that might change; Reuters reported Feb. 8 that senior U.S. commanders favor a slower withdrawal to allow the fragile Iraqi government to stabilize as its security forces continue to mature.

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