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Dealing With Broken Dwell Time
   Next Article → ALGERIA: American Diplomats Cause Panic
April 22, 2007: One essential element in maintaining troop morale during wartime, is to provide some guarantees that there will be time to rest between deployments to combat zones. This rest is officially called "dwell time." That's "dwell" as in stay in your own dwelling, with your family, for two months, for every month you are in the combat zone.

 

The real world is unpredictable, so the U.S. Army had to come up with a way to compensate troops who "break dwell time" (don't get enough of it because they are needed back on the battlefield.) The formula developed is based on what happens in a 36 month period. Active-duty troops get one day off for every month they are deployed (in a combat zone) beyond 12 months. After 18 months, they get two days off per extra month deployed. After 24 months, they get four days off per extra month deployed. Normally, a soldier gets 30 days off per year, Reserve troops use the same formula, but based on a 72 month cycle, and five months dwell time for each month in a combat zone. 

 

In addition to the days off, troops who stay in the combat zone beyond twelve months, also get an extra thousand dollars a month in pay. Thus the soldiers who have recently had their tours extended to fifteen months in Iraq, will get $3,000 each in extra pay, and three extra vacation days. Compensation like this has worked so far, with reenlistment rates staying high. But this is all uncharted territory, for the U.S. military has never fought a war for so long, using an all-volunteer force, and with most Americans living as if there were no war at all.


 Next Article → ALGERIA: American Diplomats Cause Panic
  

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Vulture    army needs to step up   4/22/2007 9:38:14 AM
 
ok have to say that the Army is screwing the pooch with downtime for the troops.
 
I have now talked to mutiple multi-generational army guys and their families.  And they are not happy.  We got people will less than 4 years to go on their 20 submitting resignations.  We got Non-Coms saying it's my family or my career, and choosing their family.
 
The military should have a complete family support network.  This means having a HR operation just for looking after soldiers' families.  Their should be a standard setup in Qatar or some other in zone basing area for families to get togther with their soldiers.  IF you are going to have 15 month deployments, you need to keep these guys grounded.  so the US should buy hotels, cruise ships, whatever near IRAQ yet in a controlled safe zone.  And let the families fly in to see thier loved ones for a week or two.
 
The old wives support system is not being implemented fully enough.  Their should NOT be a call to some aid local agencies by any soldier's wife(or husband ).  The military needs to make sure that if the soldier would have done it for their family, that the military will step in and do it while their are away.
 
 
When you see career soldiers giving up and doing whatever to get out, then you know the army is failing its soldiers.
 
 
 
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James S.       4/28/2007 3:38:10 AM
I've read about this a couple of places. I got back from Iraq in September (2nd trip to Iraq, and had Afganistan before that). I went to a 3 month school in January (TDY). I arrived in Korea two weeks ago. As I am not Command Sponsored I cannot bring my family here. Will this apply to me as well or did other hardship tours away from our families slip through the cracks again? 
 
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