WASHINGTON – This time last year, the Marine Corps scrubbed its personnel rosters and found more than 66,000 leathernecks who had not yet done a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. The top brass put them at the front of the line.
Now, an Army check has found about 40 percent of 515,000 active-duty soldiers have not yet set foot in a combat zone even as the wars stretch into their fifth and sixth years, with some soldiers having served up to five tours.
The check showed that some of the soldiers who have not served in a war zone are scheduled to deploy in the near future but that at least 37,000 other troops have no reason for their lack of war duty and should start packing.
