Marine commander warns of stress on forces, families

Any decision by the Bush administration to halt reductions in American troop strength in Iraq this summer should await input from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on other global risks and the stress on the military caused by constant deployments, the Marine Corps commandant said Thursday.

Gen. James T. Conway spoke at a Government Executive Leadership Breakfast in Washington.

Referring to news reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates advocates halting troop reductions this summer once the extra surge units have returned home, Conway warned of the strain this placed on Marines to maintain force levels in Iraq and the inability to train for other missions. It will only get worse with the deployment of about 3,500 Marines to Afghanistan this spring, he said.

Five extra brigades were sent to Iraq as part of the surge strategy implemented in 2007, which led to a significant reduction in violence there. By the summer, the force will have returned to pre-surge levels of 15 brigades. Some have urged a strategic pause before drawing down troop levels any further to prevent a possible increase in violence.

When military leaders meet in March to discuss Iraq troop levels, they will consider the likelihood that a new administration will be in office next year with a mandate to speed the withdrawal. "If we carry 15 brigades in Iraq into the election, does that guarantee a slash and perhaps then a scenario that's sort of outside our control, that's not one we've prepared the Iraqis for and not one we've prepared our own troops for, and all of a sudden we go on a crash diet all around the country in terms of force availability?" he said.

Conway said many Marines spend just seven months at home for every seven months in combat. Intelligence specialists, helicopter pilots and psychological operations officers spend only five months home for every seven deployed. Morale remains high, he said, but he worries about the effects on service members' families.

The military has increased spending on health care, child support and housing in an effort to improve families' quality of life. "I just hope it's not too little too late," Conway said.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey also has warned that the Army is strained by the constant deployments and overall military readiness has suffered. Conway said Marine recruitment and retention remain high, and the service has not lowered recruiting standards or increased bonuses, as the Army has been forced to do to attract recruits.

In 2007, Gates refused Conway's request to turn over Iraq's western Anbar province to the Army and shift 15,000 Marines to Afghanistan. At the time, Gates was pressuring NATO nations to increase their force levels in Afghanistan and worried that sending the Marines there would give NATO politicians an out, Conway said. When NATO nations refused to send more troops, Gates reversed his decision and agreed to a Marine deployment.

Conway said the request was made because the mission in Iraq has shifted from combat operations to nation building, a mission the Marines are neither trained nor equipped to perform. He said the Marines' focus on irregular warfare and their light infantry role is well-suited to the fighting in Afghanistan, much of which occurs in rough mountain terrain.

He worries the Marines have "gotten away from an expeditionary mentality," and are beginning to "look like a second land army." To protect against the scourge of roadside bombs in Iraq, the Marines have had to buy large numbers of heavily armored vehicles. "We've gotten fat and heavy in Iraq," said Conway.

The Marines currently are undergoing a light versus heavy debate -- reminiscent of that undertaken by the Army in the 1990s -- as they re-examine their post-Iraq force structure. Marine force planners will recommend that the entire force be significantly lighter, Conway said. The Marines must remain agile enough to be readily transportable aboard both amphibious ships and aircraft, yet hard-hitting and well-protected. Future Marine vehicles likely will have modular bolt-on armor kits that will remain aboard transport ships at sea and applied to vehicles if needed.

Conway said the Marines must maintain an amphibious, forced entry capability. Absent that capability, there must be accessible ports and airfields adjacent to enemy territory. Because that's unlikely, a minimum of 30 amphibious ships must be available to carry two Marine brigades, according to service requirements.

Having 30 operational amphibious ships will require the Navy to keep at least 34 on the rolls, he said. The Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan involves extending the life of older amphibious vessels to get to the required number. Those efforts are "insufficient," Conway said, because older vessels are not large enough to carry two Marine brigades.