Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/democrats-criticize-military-tour-extensions Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Following an announcement from the Pentagon that tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan will be extended from 12 months to 15 months, Democratic lawmakers again criticized President Bush's war policy. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. KWAME HOLMAN: When word came down from the Pentagon that Army duty tours in Iraq and Afghanistan would be extended, some soldiers in the field were supportive.SGT. CHRISTOPHER SHIMA, 3rd Infantry Division, U.S. Army: Honestly, we put the uniform on because we love our jobs. And if you didn't love your job, you'd get out. So if they wanted me back for 18 months, I'd come back for 18 months. KWAME HOLMAN: However, the families of several soldiers already serving in Iraq were not so pleased. In a Washington Post article today, the wife of a lieutenant colonel serving in Iraq, Carolyn Crissman, said, "Fifteen months is a long time, especially if you have an infant and come back to a toddler."The new policy affects some 100,000 Army soldiers already in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus those set to deploy in coming months. They now will serve up to 15-month tours of duty instead of 12 months and receive $3,000 in extra pay.The extension does not apply to the 25,000 Marines or National Guard and reservists serving in Iraq, for now.The lengthened tours are part of the ongoing troop surge in Iraq and the bolstering of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan in anticipation of a Taliban spring offensive.And this week, four states warned their National Guard brigades to prepare for possible deployment to Iraq late this year. It would be the second tour of duty for several thousand of the Guard soldiers.