Report Finds Soldiers Stationed in Texas Bear Disproportionate Share of Burden of War

Veterans for America's Wounded Warrior Outreach Program Releases New Report: The Consequences of Churning: A State-by-State Account of the Toll of Deployments on Frontline Active-Army Units

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- VFA's Wounded Warrior Outreach Program has chronicled the experiences of the units of the U.S. Army, on a state-by-state basis, that have been among our nation's most heavily used in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. VFA has aggregated information on each frontline unit's number of deployments, intensity of combat, and dwell time.

This report makes clear that the Soldiers who have seen the most combat are the ones who are deployed repeatedly. Unfortunately, Department of Defense studies prove that with each deployment Soldiers are 60% more likely to develop severe post-combat mental health problems.

Our report finds that the Brigade Combat Teams (BCT's) and Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Texas have borne a heavy burden fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom:

-- Eight of Texas' nine active-Army frontline units have served tours in
which they have suffered fatalities above normal for brigades deployed
to Iraq.

-- Fort Hood has lost more Soldiers than any other military installation.

-- The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment had less than a year at home between
its first and second tours.

-- The first Iraq tour of the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd BCT was extended
twice.

Veterans For America's Wounded Warrior Outreach Program has worked closely with Soldiers and their families at Ft. Hood and we are deeply concerned with the toll that our deployment cycles have taken.

"When elected representatives talk about the 'readiness' of the military, they must also talk about the health of our troops," said Bobby Muller, President of VFA. "We cannot consider our military 'ready' when we have Soldiers at Ft. Hood returning to Iraq multiple times for excruciatingly long tours with insufficient time at home. Our Soldiers are beginning to unravel."

Reports can be found at www.veteransforamerica.org .

Source: Veterans For America

CONTACT: Adrienne Willis of Veterans For America, +1-202-557-7509,
awillis@veteransforamerica.org

Web site: http://www.veteransforamerica.org/

2008-04-07 22:47:40 0330150 PRNEWSWIRE