Discussion Questions

Aired, September 10, 2003

About 20,000 U.S. National Guard and Army Reserve troops currently serving in the Iraq theater may have their tours of duty extended by up to six months under a plan that the Army has sent to Congress, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. The reserve forces usually fill key support roles in military operations.

1. What are reserve military forces? Who first proposed that there be reserve forces in this country?

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2. How are reserve forces similar to and different from "regular" active-duty military personel?

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3. What is a "tour of duty"? Why are Pentagon officials saying that many reservists might have their tours of duty extended? How do you think this might affect these reservists and their families?

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Related Links

CNN.com: Senators question Iraq policy, price tag (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/09/sprj.irq.main/index.html)

CNN.com: Report: U.S. Army extends tour of reserves in Iraq (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/09/sprj.irq.reserves.reut/index.html)

Militaryinfo.com (http://www.militaryinfo.com)

U.S. Military: Armed Forces Careers (http://www.armedforcescareers.com/enlistmentrequirements.html)

U.S. Navy (http://www.navy.mil/)

U.S. Army (http://www.goarmy.com/)

U.S. Marines (http://www.marines.com/)

U.S. Air Force (http://www.af.mil/)

U.S. Coast Guard (http://www.uscg.mil/)

Keywords

military reserves, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, careers