Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Do we really have a unit rotation system? Nope, except for Special Operators

Tom Ricks offers an insight from CNAS’s Phillip Carter on the management of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

cropEngineering%3b_large_cogs_meshing_together_and_diagrams_of_ep_Wellcome_V0024643
cropEngineering%3b_large_cogs_meshing_together_and_diagrams_of_ep_Wellcome_V0024643

I thought we did, but my friend Phil Carter makes a good point:

I thought we did, but my friend Phil Carter makes a good point:

“We never really had a true unit rotation system in Iraq or Afghanistan; rather, we had a unit rotational system grafted onto an individual personnel management system.

And it’s especially true given the extent of cross-leveling that happened before deployments in both the active and reserve components, to say nothing of the use of individual augmentees.

Only SOF, with its relatively insular personnel pool, had something like a true unit rotation system.”

via Wikimedia

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.