The U.S. military has announced an across-the-board extension of tours of duty for all active soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers will be deployed for up to 15 months — three months longer than before. The move will affect more than 100,000 soldiers and bring about the military’s longest combat tours since the Second World War. The extension also marks the first time active-duty soldiers will have spent more time at war than at home. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged the military is “stretched” in defending the extension.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “If the Army were quote-unquote 'broken,' you would not see these kinds of retention rates and our ability to recruit. I think that what this recognizes, though, is that our forces are stretched — there’s no question about that. And it is an attempt, above all, to provide — instead of dribbling out these notifications to units sort of just in time, when they’re deployed, what we’re trying to do here is provide some long-term predictability for the soldiers and their families about how long their deployments will be and how long they will be at home, and particularly guaranteeing that they will be home for a full 12 months.”

Democrats say the extended tours could jeopardize military readiness and threaten the Army’s make-up as an all-volunteer force. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Carl Levin said: “Once again, the failures of this administration are being underwritten by our troops.”