Expert: Rod Powers - 7/23/2006

Question
hi my sister is in iraq and is in the airforce and i wanted to know if she is really coming home in 5 weeks because she thinks she is she is an airman not a soldier but i dont get to ask her these types of questions can u give me any insight? thanks. faya

Answer
Hi Faya,

I wish I could help, but it's impossible to say.  Each of the service branches have their own policies when it comes to length of deployments to combat zones, such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

For example, all Army (Soldier) deployments are one year "boots on the ground."  The majority of Marine Corps deployments are for 9 to 12 months.

Most Air Force deployments are for four to six months.  Some deployments are for longer (up to 12 months), but generally the person will know about it when they get their deployment orders.

Generally, she can count on coming back at the time she was told the deployment is going to end (the rotation date on her orders).  Sometimes, situations can happen which will extend a scheduled deployment length, but they are relatively rare, and are often filled by volunteers (you would be surprised at how many will volunteer -- pay in combat zone is tax-free, and one receives extra pay, such as combat pay, family separation allowance, etc., so there are usually plenty of volunteers).

For example, when I was deployed to Kuwait in 1994, our designated deployment time was 4 months, but we needed 200 people to stay a month longer.  I (as the first sergeant) had no problem getting 200 people to volunteer for the extra month (and the extra pay), so I didn't have to select any non-volunteers.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com