Surge in Afghanistan? Send them in by August!

According to ADM Mullen, it'll take until August for the surge forces to all arrive in theater. No word on how this will affect the redeployment clock for guys coming home, though.

The top U.S. military officer said Tuesday that he's confident that most of the 30,000 additional troops that are being sent to Afghanistan will be there by August.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters traveling with him in Afghanistan that the first 16,000 troops who already have orders will be in on schedule.
On Monday, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, the second-highest ranking U.S. general in Afghanistan, said the rapid escalation of American troops would take longer than expected, possibly as long as 11 months. Rodriguez blamed the delay on the logistical challenges the military faces in bringing in so many forces so quickly.
But Mullen said that he's "reasonably confident" the logistics can be made to work, although "I want a plan B because life doesn't always work out."
He said the vast majority of troops in the surge ordered by President Barack Obama should be in Afghanistan by August.
In Washington, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said all his troops will be in place by spring for their mission in the South of Afghanistan with the exception of one headquarters unit.
"The combat units will be in early, and we'll start expanding those zones of influence where we already were, primarily up and down the Helmand River Valley and the Helmand province," he told a Pentagon press conference Tuesday. The force of 5,000 Marines in Afghanistan will grow to some 20,000 as part of Obama's buildup.

By: Brant