Via Associated Press:

A Marine reserve battalion that suffered heavy losses in Iraq in 2005 is sending out members for training before expected assignment in Iraq.

The 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, Fourth Marine Division, based in the Cleveland suburb Brook Park, is providing reinforcements and joining another regiment at the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., for about three months of training.

In August 2005, 14 members of the 3/25 Marines died in attacks a day apart, including nine members of Columbus-based Lima company killed by a roadside bomb. The battalion lost 48 members in seven months.

Lt. Col. Minter Ralston at the battalion headquarters said Wednesday that 40 members of the battalion were sent Tuesday.

In April, Veterans for America's Wounded Warrior Outreach Program released two reports, The Consequences of Churning and Weekend Warriors to Frontline Soldiers, that showed that not only are these repeated deployments taking their toll on returning servicemembers with increased incidents of combat stress, but many frontline units are repeatedly experiencing higher KIA (Killed in Action) than most servicemembers who have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan.

The repeated deployment of "three deuce five" is hardly unique. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, which has already been deployed three times since September 11, 2001, will be deployed again this fall, making it one of a handful of BCT's that will have seen four tours.

According to multiple Army-led Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT) reports, multiple deployments are having a devastating effect on our troops. MHAT V, released earlier this year, found that the likelihood of non-commissioned officers (NCO's) suffering a severe psychological wound in combat rose by 125% between the first deployments and third/fourth deployments.

Placing this stress on frontline units that have shouldered an undue burden in both combat tours and fatalities is not a sustainable military policy - our troops deserve more time to heal and, if necessary, to prepare to return to combat.