What is the minimum amount of time a soldier can serve in Iraq?

Question

I was just recently informed that my brother is going to Fort Hood, Texas for the last 8 or 9 months of his contract he signed up for with the Army. I am aware that alot of people get shipped off to Iraq from Fort Hood, but does everyone? also if he only has that amount of time left, would they even bother shipping him off to Iraq? Isn't there a minimum amount of time you have to serve in Iraq..like a year or something? Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

Although your brother has only 8 or 9 months left on active duty, how long has he been in the Army? Everyone who signs with the military is obligated to give 8 years of service. If your brother has served only 4 years on active duty, then he is still obligated for 4 more years of service in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). The Army can keep him on active duty through that 4 years of IRR if they want to. It is called Stop Loss. They do not let them out even though their active duty time is up. If the Army does do that, then they can have him serve a full tour in Iraq.

Answer 2

Not everyone ships out of Ft. Hood, thats Army. The other branches ship out from other places.
As for the time factor, he is in as long as they say or need him in.
Even after your contract is up, you still are on inactive reserve for 2 years, and they can call you back at any point during that time frame.
As for how long he is over there, I know the Army is there a long time. I am a Marine wife, and they cant stay longer than 180 days. Army is usually at least a year.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

no there is not a minimum amount of time spent over there. there isnt even a maximum, the army can keep you over there as long as they need you there. ft hood is a highly deployed duty station so his chances of being deployed are very high but not necessarily guaranteed. the bad thing about being in the army is that if he gets put into a unit that is deploying, even if he only had 5 months left in the army, he will get sent with the unit and be stop lossed, which means that he cant get out of the army until his unit redeploys back to the states. that happened to a lot of people in my last unit, it really sucked.

Answer 4

Army deployments are currently running 12 months, plus possible extensions.
It is true that if your brother gets into a unit that has orders to deploy, he may be stop-lossed, meaning the Army will extend his contract to a certain date in order for him to serve the full tour of the deployment. This is a legal move on their part, and is outlined in the contract he signed when he enlisted/reenlisted.
He would then be able to ETS from the service upon redeployment (coming home) and when the stop-loss period is up. There are some exceptions, but I'm not big on reg's, so I'm not sure what all they are.

Answer 5

I am not really sure on how it works with Army......My husband is on the Army Nat. Guard. His Co. was sent last Jan. He did not go because of being in Bozniea the year before, but he could have gone and the extra time he was there like 3 or 4 months he would have gotten an extra $1000 per month......They have to be home for 2 years berofe sending them back unless they want to go. and they cant be gone for more then 2 years i think.......

Answer 6

I know that some serving members have served their time up to the day they are released from the forces in Iraq. They get home and then sign a few papers and back into civilian life. The transition from serving in the Armed forces and back into civilian employment does not come easy.

Answer 7

if he is going to a unit that will be deploying, he will go with them, regardless of the amount fo time he has left, and will stay there for the duration of the deployment, even if it goes past his EAOS. It is called stop Loss, and is perfectly legal for the military to hold him, especially if he is still under 8 years in. ALL initial Military contracts are for 8 years, and the military can choose to keep them active the entire 8 years if they choose to do so.