Odierno: Commanders planning surge units to complete 15-month deployments; Last would leave August, 2008

Above: Soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division take a quick break during cordon and search operations in Baghdad last week.

Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno... said commanders right now are planning to withdraw by August next year all troops sent as part of President Bush's buildup this year...

He also said that planning right now is for the five extra brigades of soldiers sent early this year to begin going home when their 15-month tours of duty end. The brigades arrived roughly one a month from January to June.

Asked if they would be able to leave that way starting next April, he said he was “not willing to quite say that yet” because top commander Gen. David Petraeus may decide to send replacements for some, depending on the security situation.

“Right now our plan is not to backfill (replace) those units,” he said.

Read the rest at the San Diego Tribune

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