Military may let Louisiana unit leave Iraq early

Per Stars & Stripes:

Officials will try to speed up the return of a Louisiana unit already preparing a move back home from Iraq, to help its soldiers more quickly deal with family issues related to the hurricane damage, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq said Friday.

Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, said officials “might be able to accelerate their rotations by a week or so to get them home to their families.” But units from Mississippi and Alabama in Iraq who aren’t already scheduled to return won’t be able to return early.

“The problem is the security mission here goes on,” he said. “If we take some troops out it puts others at risk. Unless someone is known to have a family member wounded or killed, there is not a provision for them to return.”