GOOD NEWS FOR THE 1ST CAV AND BIG RED ONE

And even for a handful of 1AD troops.

The Army will resume chartered flights for troops leaving the Iraq theater for R&R “on or about June 15,” and will boost the number troops leaving every day to between 500 and 600, said program chief Col. Paris Mack...

A message sent to family members this week by the 1st Infantry Division’s rear detachment commander, Lt. Col. Christopher Kolenda, said the division expects to get about 100 R&R slots per day.

That’s about 20 more than previously expected, he added, which would allow about 80 percent of the division’s soldiers to get the 15-day leave before its “window” closes Nov. 30.

Commanders of 1st Armored Division soldiers, who were extended in April for at least 90 days past their one-year deployment mark, have approved granting leave to some, and are working to send soldiers home, said division spokesman Maj. David Gercken.

In addition, the division is sending soldiers to Qatar for a four-day R&R program and working with the 1st Cavalry division to send troops to the Freedom Rest R&R site in Baghdad, Gercken said.