Shorter Combat Tours

This is an interesting development, highlighting the tension between meeting current needs and ensuring future retention levels:

The U.S. Army is considering slashing the length of combat tours for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan because it fears declines in recruiting and troop retention, The New York Times reported Monday.

Officials say the Army's ability to recruit and retain soldiers will erode unless tours are shortened from 12 months to between six and nine months -- the rough equivalent of the tours found in the U.S. Marine Corps, said the Times, citing top Army personnel officers and Army Reserve and National Guard officials.

It's a question I don't know the answer to, nor have anything intelligent to add. I honestly wonder whether the average soldier would prefer going to Iraq once for one year, or twice for six months with six months in between (the latter would seem to be the likeliest way to maintain current troop levels). I think I'd prefer just the once, but what do I know?