Are There Any Differences Between A Combat And Noncomabt Soldier?

F-15C Eagle aircraft armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles deploy to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield. The aircraft are assigned to the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Fernando Serna

What's the Difference Between Combat and Noncombat Troops? -- Foreign Policy

Not much.

On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the United States is on schedule to end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31. However, a residual force of at least 50,000 "noncombat" troops will remain in Iraq for the next year. So what exactly are noncombat troops?

Whatever you want them to be. The distinction is more political than military. The White House says the remaining troops will "train and advise Iraqi Security Forces; conduct partnered and targeted counter-terrorism operations; and protect ongoing U.S. civilian and military efforts." All of this has the potential to involve quite a bit of combat.

Read more ....

My Comment: I missed this article from FP last week .... but it is still relevant for today and on what will be our future role in Iraq.

Bottom line .... nothing much is going to change. For the foreseeable future there will be a heavy presence of U.S. soldiers in the country, and in the event that the violence increases, there are still tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers in neighboring countries. The U.S. presence in Iraq is going to be there for a very long time .... combat or noncombat.