Families aim to press Pentagon Relatives want 94th Military Police Company home from Iraq

PORTLAND – Two dozen relatives of members of the 94th Military Police Company will meet with top Pentagon officials and New England senators on Monday to complain about the length of deployments.

The unit, which has been serving in Iraq since April 2003, was supposed to return home last October, but the unit’s tour was extended another six months. Then last month, as reservists prepared to board a homeward-bound plane, their stay was extended by another 120 days.

Family members of soldiers in the unit, based in Londonderry, N.H., are expected to meet with Maj. Gen. James Helmly, head of the Army reserve, along with an official from Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq.

Afterward, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the Armed Services Committee, will host a meeting of the relatives with lawmakers from the three states where they live: Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The unit, which has escorted supply convoys, was in Kuwait, expecting to be home for Easter Sunday when the latest extension orders came. Relatives have since noticed that other military-police companies have rotated home sooner than the 94th, so they plan to ask about the criteria for when units are moved.

“These soldiers have more than served their country,” said Nancy Durst of Saco, whose husband Scott, a Portland police officer, serves in the 94th. “We’re not asking for any special privileges. This is now a question of fairness.”

The relatives submitted 10 questions in advance to the Pentagon that they hope to have answered at the meeting. Most important is the timetable for getting the 94th home and the Pentagon’s criteria for rotating units in and out of Iraq.

Uncertainty about the scheduled shift in power June 30 from U.S. military to an interim Iraqi government has stoked concerns.

The problem stems from a 1970 policy that coordinated skills among the active military, reserves and National Guard units. The mix has left military police, transportation and engineering units in high demand.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has argued that the country doesn’t need a bigger Army, even though the Pentagon is seeking a temporary increase of 30,000 troops, to get the right mix of skills among full-time soldiers.

Collins said she is hosting the meeting with lawmakers to assure the relatives that they have a voice in the capital.

“It is important that they have the opportunity to meet in person with the military officials who have direct command over the units in which their loved ones are serving,” Collins said. “These soldiers have gone above and beyond in serving the country and helping to create a better life for the Iraqi people.”

Collins has pressed Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at Armed Services Committee hearings for answers about the lengthy deployments.