And the fact that it wasn't "publicly announced" - whatever that means exactly - will probably become a new media big stick in the eye for the administration.
Just as regular Army (search) soldiers have had their tours of duty extended, the National Guard and reserve troops will have their mobilizations redefined so that they serve a whole year in Iraq, defense officials said Tuesday.
The new policy disregards time spent training and debriefing, and counts only time deployed "in country" as part of the active year. This means some Guard and Army Reserve troops could have their original 12-month mobilizations extended an additional one to six months.
The new order, signed Friday night and not publicly announced, covers some 20,000 Guard members and reservists. It applies only to those troops already in Iraq, not those scheduled to deploy in coming months.
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