November 30, 2007:
The U.S. Air Force has the
shortest combat tour, four months, of any service. This has been great for
morale, but often not-so-great for the other folks overseas (both air force and
otherwise), who really needed more continuity. So, on a selective basis, more
air force personnel have been doing longer tours. Currently, some 42 percent do
longer tours. About ten percent do six months or more per tour, and longer
tours are going to get longer, and more common. This will not be great for
morale.