More soldiers are away from home despite no major wars

More soldiers away from home despite absence of major wars

Soldiers are deployed at rates similar to those of Afghanistan and Iraq wars
Many say the packed training schedules are putting a strain on family life
The military has an obligation to be ready for war, an officer says

Updated: Apr 18, 2023 / 12:11 PM EDT

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army prepare for deployment to Poland from Fort Bragg, N.C. on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. They are among soldiers the Department of Defense is sending in a demonstration of American commitment to NATO allies worried at the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine. (AP Photo/Nathan Posner)

(NewsNation) — Data suggests soldiers are away from home nearly as much as they were at the height of the Global War on Terror, despite there being no major ongoing wars, according to Military.com.

Military.com spoke to more than a dozen soldiers who say packed schedules of missions and trainings are straining their home lives to a breaking point.

“The average citizen doesn’t know how stressful this is on our families. I think it has been an incredible strain on our soldiers and our families,” Army Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston told Military.com

“We have a 100% obligation to be ready for the worst-case scenario, so we have to go to the CTC (Combat Training Center). The American people would never forgive us if we sent soldiers to Europe that weren’t as trained as the best we could get,” Grinston said.

This month, the U.S. Army has roughly 120,000 soldiers deployed abroad, according to internal service data. The entire Department of Defense, including all military branches, had an all-time high of 187,900 troops in Afghanistan and Iraq when those conflicts peaked in 2008.