Sending Guard, Reserve units on second tours would be a policy shift.

WASHINGTON — The nation's top military officials, expecting President Bush to order an increase in the size of the force in Iraq, have concluded that such a buildup would require them to reverse Pentagon policy and send the Army's National Guard and Reserve units on lengthy second tours in Iraq, Defense Department officials said Monday.

Under Pentagon policy, Guard and Reserve units have been limited to 24 months of mobilization for the Iraq war. That means most Reserve units that already have been sent to Iraq are ineligible to return. But the Joint Chiefs of Staff have concluded that a significant troop buildup would require the Pentagon to send Guard and Reserve units for additional yearlong tours.

Such an order probably would be controversial among the nation's governors — who share authority over the Guard — and could heighten concerns in Congress over the war and Bush's plans for a troop increase. In addition, National Guard leaders were skeptical of calls for additional combat tours, which they fear could hurt recruiting and retention.

In the internal debates over whether the military should send extra troops into Iraq, the service chiefs have been convinced that sustaining an increase would require sending National Guard combat brigades for return tours as part of what the military is calling "assured access" to the reserves.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-troops9jan09,0,5874521.story?coll=la-home-headlines

And I hate to give Rumsfeld any credit, but I believe he was dead set against such a shift. Gates will do it without question. The policy shift will fall in line with PNAC's recommendations, which states:

"The ground forces must accept longer tours for several years. National Guard units will have to accept increased deployments during this period."

http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25396,filter.all/pub_detail.asp

I ended up with a double post becuase my browser crashed when I sent the first one..

get around the rules is piece together units with either soldiers that didn't go before or move other people into the unit from other units. When they don't have enough, they ask for volunteers and anyone who doesn't volunteer is heavily pressured. Many NG members have been away from their families and jobs for 18-24 months in the last 24-36 months. They have very long deployments. The equipment for many of these units is damaged or still in country. They aren't considered "ready" because of a lack of proper equipment. They have also been swapping out tons of equipment trying to piece together units to go. It's a total clusterf*ck and much more of this is going to ruin the entire system.