Federal Drive

DoD scrambles to find new missions for returning soldiers

The cascading effects of the Obama administration\'s decision to pull thousands of soldiers out of Iraq and Afghanistan are rippling through the National Guard.

Federal News Network Staff

November 28, 2011 8:12 am

< a min read

The cascading effects of the Obama administration’s decision to pull thousands of soldiers out of Iraq and Afghanistan are rippling through the National Guard.

Nearly 9,000 Army National Guard soldiers have been either sent home early, or were told that the Pentagon’s plans to send them to battle have been shelved or changed.

As a result, military and Guard leaders are scrambling to find new missions for many of the soldiers, who have put their lives on hold, sent their children to live with extended family, then moved to local military bases for deployment.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.