WASHINGTON — Constant deployments may be stretching the U.S. military, but the commander of the 10th Mountain Division said he does not want the Army to be seen as a casualty of U.S. policy in Iraq.
At a briefing with defense reporters at the Pentagon in advance of his division headquarters' return to Iraq in May, Maj. Gen. Michael L. Oates cautioned that war protests by soldiers and Iraq war veterans, while not surprising, may paint a misleading picture of the Army as it deals with the consequences of warfare.
"I don't think it's a news flash that war's unpopular," Gen. Oates said, referring to veterans from the 10th Mountain Division and other units who spoke out against the war last week at Winter Soldier, an event in Maryland organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Among their complaints is that the Army demands too much of soldiers through long, repeated deployments and poor treatment of war-related illnesses. Several of the soldiers and former soldiers, including one who finished his service at Fort Drum earlier this month, said they were proud of their service, however, and would not discourage recruits.
"I don't enjoy being treated as a victim. The U.S. Army is not a victim," Gen. Oates told reporters Thursday. "There's a difference between being supportive and treating us as a victim."
Despite the war, many young people continue to sign up for military service, Gen. Oates said, although he acknowledged that 15-month deployments — rather than the one-year stints the Army would prefer — dampen recruitment and strain military families. Fort Drum soldiers should expect 15-month deployments in Iraq this year, he said, even though Army leaders say tours could be cut back to a year as soon as this summer.
Soldiers return home for just a year before deploying again, which is half the time at home the Army aims to provide.
Gen. Oates and several hundred others from the division's headquarters at Fort Drum will deploy to Iraq in May, where they will take command of parts of Baghdad and several provinces. In a twist caused by the Army's new "modular" design, however, the brigades under his command will not be from the 10th Mountain Division, and brigades from the 10th Mountain Division that are in Iraq will be under other commanders.
That should not be a problem, Gen. Oates said, because he has been in regular contact with the unit he is replacing — the 3rd Infantry Division — and already knows most of the brigade commanders in the Army.
"It is very unique," Gen. Oates said. "I'm not terribly uncomfortable about that."
With all the moving around of brigades, the division has not lost sight of one key mission: finding two 10th Mountain Division soldiers believed captured May 12, 2007. Sgt. Alex Jimenez and Pfc. Byron Fouty of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, were in a unit attacked during a combat patrol.
Gen. Oates said the Army has a "pretty aggressive strategy" to look for the missing men and continues to track down possible tips, none of which has been fruitful.
"There are a lot of rumors in that country," he said.
The Iraq Gen. Oates returns to in May is safer in some respects but presents new challenges. In past tours, he said, the top concern was explosives on vehicles, while soldiers now are watching more closely for people carrying explosives. More contact with everyday Iraqis poses risks, but better-trained Iraqi security forces are helpful.
Soldiers "have to be careful not to be slaves to their previous experiences," he said, including thinking that "sweetness and light have set in."
The troops Gen. Oates oversees may expand their territory to the south and west, into rural regions that have had little U.S. military presence. He said U.S. forces would link up with Iraqi security forces that are becoming established in those regions.
