LIVE FROM WAR II: 13mos till I see my daughter.

My first child, Kennedy, was born on groundhog day, February 2, 2007.  On February 9, I got on a plain for Afghanistan where I THOUGHT I'd be spending the next year. More after the fold.

Yes, I thought I'd be here for a year. I'd miss the first year of my daughter's life, but I could manage. I'd known about this 12 month stay for months, so I was prepared.  Until I woke up this morning and read this:

Tours of duty for members of the U.S. Army will be extended from 12 months to 15 months effective immediately, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday.

Wow. Notice the link I posted. I didn't mean go here to read what I received through official communications. I meant this morning,  I turned on my laptop, went to CNN.com as I do first thing every morning, and that is how I found out I will miss three more months of my daughter's life.  

My chain of command has been after me to reenlist.  I've told them no on every occaision I've been approached.  If they still keep trying to talk to me about it, they will have a lot of trouble getting over this hurdle.  Oh and then there is this, from the same article:

"What we're trying to do here is provide some long-term predictability to our soldiers and their families," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.

Long-term predictability?!? Is that what you call waking up to be suprised to learn your fate on CNN.com?  Is this going to help my wife and daughter, who have been predicting for the long-term that I'll be home in February?  

I wonder how they are going to spin this?

The order covers the active-duty Army, which provides most of the estimated 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. National Guard and reserve troops would continue to spend a year in the war zone, Gates said...

Troops now held beyond 12 months are paid an additional $1,000 a month. That policy will continue, Gates said.

ALL troops get that extra $1,000 a month beyond 12? Wow, that makes this whole thing seem not so bad! But guess again, Bobby.  Only Reserves and Guard get that. Us Active Duty folks don't get crap, beyond what we were already getting.

Well, that's my rant.  I'm going to head to work, to see what they have to say about this.

UPDATE
Got to work today and discovered it is, in fact, true.  What kills me is that there are less than 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.  If this administration had not gotten side tracked by Iraq, even if we were still in Afghanistan, they would not have to extend troops anywhere.