FORT STEWART, Ga. — Concerned that yearlong deployments to Iraq may be wearing out soldiers, the Army wants to shorten combat tours, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said.

"We'd like to get ourselves to a situation where we can deploy the soldiers ... for six to nine months," Harvey told reporters at Fort Stewart.

How quickly the Army can do that depends on how soon Iraq's own security forces are ready to take on a larger role.

Harvey said if deployments are cut to six months, soldiers could get as much as two years at home between rotations.