Agence France-Presse, 16 October 2007
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A team of US army safety experts are in Iraq to study a recent surge in non-combat deaths that have coincided with extended 15-month deployments for US troops, a senior military official said Monday.
Lieutenant General Carter Ham, operations director of the Joint Staff, said commanders in Iraq were concerned enough about the spike in non-combat deaths that it has asked for an assessment by the army team.
According to Pentagon figures, 29 soldiers died in August for reasons unrelated to combat, and another 23 died of non-combat causes in September. That compared with just seven in August last year and 11 the following month.
"We don't yet know what may have caused an increase in the non-battle casualties," Ham said.
"That's why the commanders in Iraq have asked for the Army Safety Center to come analyze that and to map out the way ahead, to maintain focus on safety for all the troops on the ground," he said.
The army extended tours in Iraq from a year to 15 months this year to meet troop requirements for a surge in US forces that was begun in February and will continue into the summer.
Ham, who recently returned from a visit to Iraq with new Joint Chiefs chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, said moral remains high.
"Having said that, I think there is a general consensus, and several leaders have said this, that for the army 15 months is a long hard tour," he said. "It's hard on the soldiers, it's hard on the families."
He said military leaders were looking for ways to give troops more time between deployment. Currently, army troops are at home for only a year between the longer 15 month deployments.
Citation: "Army experts study increase in non-combat deaths in Iraq," Agence France-Presse, 16 October 2007.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071016/pl_afp/usiraqmilitarydeaths_071016200222