This little bit of news out of Germany from U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. should "cheer up" the war-weary troops in Iraq.

I guess it wasn't bad enough that my son's unit had its deployment in Iraq extended from 12 to 15 month, forcing troops on the second and third tours to spend a second summer fighting in hell, Gen. Casey had to kick 'em while they were down by announcing that when they get home, they won't be sitting around drawing rocking-chair pay at the Army's expense. Instead, they'll be hard at work training for the NEXT deployment to Iraq.

I can just hear the COs passing this bit of news down the ranks:

"That's right, soldiers. You'll just have to postpone getting reacquainted with your families and put off counseling for PTSD, because you'll be working your butts off training to go back to hell.

"Oh, and don't be making any plans in the next 12 months you'd normally get between deployments, because if the Army needs to send you back early, it will. Enjoy your summer, boys!"