U.S. Army chief expects rise in deployed troops

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, already strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will likely deploy more soldiers in the next 18 months, the service's top general said on Wednesday.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said the United States would likely send more troops to Afghanistan before it had pulled an equivalent number out of Iraq, resulting in the overall increase.

"What I see is our committed strength going up slightly and staying up," until about the middle of 2010, Casey said at a breakfast organized by the Association of the United States Army, which represents current and former soldiers.

"That's going to put continued stress on the force so we're not out of the woods yet."

"We're probably not going to get everything out of Iraq on the timelines we need ... to have it in Afghanistan," he said after the breakfast.

The U.S. Army provides more than 100,000 of the 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 23,000 of the 33,000 U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.

President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on Tuesday, has pledged more forces for Afghanistan to tackle insurgent violence, at its highest level since U.S-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001.

The 3rd Brigade of the Army's 10th Mountain Division has begun deploying to Afghanistan -- the first of some 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops expected there in the next 12 to 18 months.

Obama has also vowed to pull all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq and has suggested this could be done within 16 months. But he has also said he will listen to the advice of commanders, who have cautioned that security gains in Iraq remain fragile.

Casey, a former top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the slight rise in deployed troops should not affect the Army's efforts to increase the amount of time at home between deployments -- a frequent source of complaint from soldiers.

The Army currently aims to give soldiers at least a year at home between yearlong deployments.

Casey would not put a figure on the total number of troops he expected to be deployed in 2009 and 2010, saying that would depend on decisions taken by the new administration.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Doina Chiacu)