FORT DRUM - Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey was impressed Friday in his first visit to Fort Drum but said he remained concerned about the strain on troops from ongoing multiple deployments.

“You hear a lot about the Army, that it's broken and hollow. That's just not true,” Casey told reporters before leaving the northern New York Army post. “You see that in these soldiers and their leaders. They are a remarkably resilient, professional, competent force. We are stretched. There is no doubt about it. But these soldiers are proud about the differences they are making around the world.”

Casey, who was the top U.S. commander in Iraq before taking the chief of staff job last spring, visited the 10th Mountain Division to get a sense of the division's readiness for deployment to Iraq in May.

About 1,000 soldiers from the division's headquarters staff, including Fort Drum commander Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, are scheduled to deploy to Iraq in the spring. Oates has said he expects deployment of at least three other of his brigades over the next year.

The 10th Mountain Division has been the Army's most deployed division since it was reactivated in 1986 and has played an ongoing combat role in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Some members of the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team have completed four combat tours and been deployed for more than 40 months since December 2001.

Last month, Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Army was under serious strain and must reduce the length of combat tours as soon as possible.

The Army is well on its way to meeting its goal of increasing its ranks by about 74,000 troops over the next three years, Casey said.

Casey said he anticipated the service could cut combat tours from 15 months to 12 months this year, so long as the president reduced the number of active-duty Army brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan to 15 units by July as planned.

“So as we continue to grow in size, and as the commitments for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan come down ... I think we will gradually see an improvement in the length of deployments and in the time they stay home in between deployments. We know 15 months in combat is too long. We know 12 months at home is too short,” Casey said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, have both said they favor a suspension in troop cuts after July to assess security gains before more forces leave the country. But Casey says it likely will not hamper his move to 12-month tours.

Casey has said his goal is eventually to shorten war deployments to nine months, with soldiers getting 18 months at home between tours. During his daylong visit, Casey watched as division staff members conducted a mission rehearsal exercise at the post's Battle Command Training Center, an identical mock-up of the Army's command center in Baghdad.

“I've sat through a bunch of these and I'm was extremely pleased with the level the division was at. They are well prepared for the challenges they will face in Iraq,” Casey said.

Later, Casey met with soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry, to discuss their concerns about the treatment and management of physically and mentally injured soldiers. Casey also spent some time talking with community leaders from the Fort Drum region.