Army Regulation 614 30: Fill & Download for Free

First off I’m going to tell you that I suspect that the person who is telling you that they have been on deployment for three years with no end in sight is not a soldier and certainly not a member of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Under U.S. Army deployment and redeployment policies when U.S. soldiers get redeployed they have what is called dwell time at their home station. On average, soldiers are spending about three years at home station for every year they spend on deployment. Because of dwell time the situation described in the question is unlikely.For your education I have attached several links that will provide you an understanding of the Army deployments and why the situation the questioner provided is quite frankly impossible as it goes against specific policies stated in Army Regulations and a specific policy issued by the Secretary of the Army, the highest ranking official in the Department of the Army.I suspect that the person claiming this is someone the questioner has never met in person and communicates through a Gmail or some other commercial email. I would also suspect that this person has not provided a military email (see http://mail.mil) which are not secret but use secure servers that require a CAC card that can not be faked. I would also suspect that he has not provided an APO mailing address (U.S. military mail does not go through an agent or diplomat in a foreign country). If these two items have not been provided you are dealing with a fake and a potential scammer and would be wise to break off communication with the individual before you’re scammed.Having spent some years writing deployment orders at FORSCOM, I think I have a little knowledge regarding deployment policies for units and individuals.See Army Regulation 614–30 Overseas Service https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/...What You Should Consider About Deployments Before Joining the ArmySee the Secretary of the Army Policy Memorandum on Deployments https://www.army.mil/e2/c/downlo...Update: Since writing this answer, I have learned that the writer of this question has been told that the “soldier” is supposed to be in Damascus, Syria and has supposedly been there the last three years and has to stay because he has lost his retirement papers. It’s sad and hard to understand what some people can be talked into believing over the internet.

When U.S. soldiers get redeployed they have what is called dwell time at their home station. On average, soldiers are spending about three years at home station for every year they spend on deployment. Because of dwell time the situation described in the question is pretty unlikely. See Army Regulation 614–30 Overseas Service https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/AR614-30_Web_Final.pdfWhat You Should Consider About Deployments Before Joining the ArmySee the Secretary of the Army Policy Memorandum on Deployments https://www.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/215766.pdf

According to information released by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command and published in the Army Times dwell time at home station for most units has been holding steady at three years.For additional information see Army Regulation 614–30 Overseas Service;Individual dwell time. Soldiers will accrue dwell time for combat and/or operational deployments and for serving a PCS dependent restricted tour.The Army is considering increasing the dwell time.