As a contractor who spent multiple years at a time there, it did seem insane -- Marines and Air Force were way less than a year! Although this depends a lot on

As a contractor who spent multiple years at a time there, it did seem insane -- Marines and Air Force were way less than a year! Although this depends a lot on role; a doctor or fueler does the same job everywhere, but someone building local relationships doesn't. The British colonial model of a permanently based unit through which battalions would rotate seems far preferable. The real problem was that we didn't actually need to win.