There is good news of sorts out of Washington: The Army is considering a proposal to cut soldiers’ battlefield tours from 15 months to 12 months beginning in August to try to reduce the stress on a force battered by more than six years of war.

The ultimate decision depends, we are told, on changing needs for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In other words, it all could change in an instant and our forces would be no better off than they have been, and perhaps worse, if conditions mandate stays of longer than 15 months.

“Our top priority is going to be meeting the combatant commanders’ requirements, so there may be no decision until we get more clarity on that,” says Army Col. Edward Gibbons, chief of the plans division for Forces Command. He added the goal is to meet such demands while still reducing soldiers’ deployments and increasing their time at home between tours.

It’s that “between tours” reference that has so many service personnel and their families concerned. So the new “tour” is to go 12 months rather than 15. That may be only the beginning. A soldier may be brought home for a while, even longer than previously, but still face a return to the combat zone.

In most of America’s past war ventures, there were “combat tours” of a given period after which the soldier, sailor or airman could be taken out of the line of fire for good. Now, because of our military structure, we see men and women serving two, three or more tours in deadly regions, and it is obvious there are not enough people to alter that.

As for “combat zones,” there are no more “front lines.” Any armed forces member who goes to Iraq or Afghanistan now is on the “front line” all the time because of the invasive nature of the jihadists. Even though a tour is cut from 15 to 12 months, there still are countless windows of opportunity for the enemy to take a toll. Add a second and third tour, even if “only” 12 months, and it is not difficult to understand the fear and pressure experienced by soldiers and their families.

Someone in the American armed forces may have his or her danger period shortened by 20 percent, but it still only takes one strike to cause injury or death. In addition to reducing tours, America also must focus on developing more forces to share combat duties.