Who cares about the Global War on Terrorism? A study of compulsory service and America's attitude toward the war. The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), termed the "long war" by President Bush could last decades, perhaps even centuries. As we enter this nation's seventh year prosecuting the GWOT, our military is being stretched to new limits. Tours of duty for our ground forces have increased dramatically. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in April 2007 that he extended Army tours of duty in Iraq from a standard of 12 months to 15 months. Further, according to comments made by General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in February 2007, "for the Marine Corps, six- or seven month tours, followed by 12 months at home, followed by another six- or seven-month tour gets the Marine Corps more deployed months per four-year enlistment."