General Casey, the chief of staff of the Army, makes no bones about telling anyone that will listen that the Army is out of balance. The troops know it - even those completely in support of occupying Iraq and all the mostly apolitical Soldiers doing their jobs each day. They feel the strain and I hear from many that, belief in “the mission” aside, wish the burden were spread more equitably. A message went out to the Army last month that really drives home the point that Army is being ‘rode hard and not put up - wet or not.’ It extends the amount of time that troops may save their leave days without losing them. The message is after the break and I’d encourage any deploying Soldier to be sure they understand it clearly.

Leave has always been a pet peeve of mine. Too many in charge see it as a privilege but that is not true. Leave is an entitlement - that means it is pay and can’t be captured capriciously or denied without cause. There’s a lot of talk about bonus payments and “war money” but for many troops a deployment to Iraq is a 200 day straight grind, a short break, and then another 200 day stint. Oh sure - there are screw offs here and there but for young leaders and hard workers it can be months of seven-day weeks and 12-20 hour days. If one were to calculate overtime on their actual work, the costs would be staggering. The troops get a little bit of a break on the way back but many are back in training and preparation for the next deployment with no chance for real rest. Equipment may be reset systematically but people rarely are.

Because of this, the leave days (read: vacation) earned may not be used in a timely fashion and are then summarily “lost.” That has the effect of literally fining troops for working hard and getting screwed. It’s good that the DoD is extending the time you can maintain your days but it is a real reflection of how many troops are stacking up this much unused vacation. Better late than never I suppose… (Pentagon memo available at the link)

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has ordered roughly 1,250 Marines serving as trainers for the Afghan security forces to stay on the warfront almost a month longer to continue a mission that military leaders say is a top priority, according to a senior military official.

In addition, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized the deployment of up to 200 other troops to Afghanistan to support the Marines. That includes eight helicopter crews that could be shifted from Iraq if commanders decide.

The senior military official spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement has not yet been made.

The decision to extend the tour of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in Afghanistan comes just a month after defense officials told the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit that it would stay an extra month in Afghanistan.

According to the official, the decision to hold the battalion there longer is part of an effort to capitalize on the gains the Marines have made in the training mission. The extension means that the battalion would return home in late November.

Asked about Gates' decision, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the secretary was responding to a request from the commanders.

Gates "is always pained to have to extend tours. He understands the effect that has on the families of our forces, but he also appreciates our commanders' need to make additional progress while the weather is still good in Afghanistan," Morrell said.

The bombs along the Baghdad road exploded one after the other, leaving one soldier unconscious and another screaming from his wounds. Staff Sgt. Kevin Dunne's squad was under attack. Rifle and machine gun fire pinned them down. Then, shots from a sniper.

Dunne yelled orders, but he and his squad were at a disadvantage.

Dunne said he couldn't hear well enough to tell where the sniper fire was coming from.

"I had no idea," he wrote in an e-mail to USA Today.

In the four months before the April 7 attack, the chief physician at Fort Hood, Texas, had warned that Dunne's hearing was so bad that he should be removed from combat duties. Others in the Army overruled him and sent Dunne back to Iraq for his third combat tour.

Now, a member of Dunne's squad — Sgt. Richard Vaughn, 22, of San Diego — lay dead from a sniper's bullet.

"He was lying in the middle of the street motionless," Dunne wrote. "I blame myself a lot for not being able to identify the threat simply because of the way I heard the shots."

Hearing loss is one of the most common ailments that affects troops sent back to combat, according to the Pentagon and government researchers. One in four soldiers serving in Iraq or Afghanistan have damaged hearing, the Army said. In addition, a recent study from the Rand Corp. reported one in five combat veterans suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. Back pain, leg injuries and other musculoskeletal problems are the top ailments of troops in the war zone, said Ellen Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for force health protection and readiness.

Dunne, who in Iraq was part of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, is now back home. Besides his hearing problems, he shows signs of PTSD and has severe back problems.

After more than five years of war marked by multiple deployments, many combat veterans are developing long-term health problems, raising the risk that ailing troops are being sent back into combat.

Since 2003, 43,000 troops who were classified as medically unfit in the weeks prior to deployment were still sent to war, Pentagon statistics show. That number began to drop after 2003, but the trend has reversed in the last two years. Central Command, which oversees troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, is drafting rules that could make it more difficult to send unfit troops to war.

"As much as I wanted to get out there …, I'm seriously physically challenged by not being able to hear," Dunne wrote. "The guys to my left and right don't deserve anything to happen to them because of my personal pride."