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Lawmakers demand hardship pay for extended Guard members

(Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A letter signed by 39 state senators demands hardship pay for National Guard troops whose tour of duty in Iraq has been extended.

The senators also want assistance for families of Guard members, as well as an explanation of how the troops learned of their extended tour.

The letter, released Tuesday, was prompted by a decision to extend the tour of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, which had been scheduled to return home in March and April. That tour has now been extended by 125 days as part of President Bush's plan to increase troop strength in Iraq.

The letter demands that the troops be given hardship pay for the extension, and chides National Guard officials for the way troops were told of the extension.

"We find it unacceptable that members of the 133rd Infantry Battalion learned of the extension of their tour through reading Web sites and from family members, and not through the proper chain of command," according to the letter, which is addressed to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

According to the letter, troops should have been notified in advance or in conjunction with the public.

Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense, said Gates would take the letter under consideration. She also said Gates wrote a memo last month that addressed some of the hardships faced by troops with extended tours.

"He has already directed the services to set up some of these types of compensation," she said. "That has not been finalized yet, but is in the works."

She said she couldn't comment specifically on the letter from Iowa lawmakers, but said she had not heard of other states sending similar letters.

In addition to complaining about the notification process, lawmakers said soldiers facing an extended tour should be compensated an additional $1,000 per month.

The letter also said that family members shouldn't be lost in the shuffle.

"Therefore as needs are identified, we ask that the Department of Defense provide funding and resources to mitigate the effects of the extension," the letter said.

It said the longer tour of duty "will cause great hardships on the families, employers and home communities of members of the brigade."

About 600 soldiers are affected by the extension.