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FORT CARSON, COLO. -- The Army Chief of Staff came to Fort Carson Thursday to check his troops' readiness for deployment.

Gen. George W. Casey is a former Fort Carson soldier.

Thusday he was briefed on the 43rd Sustainment Brigade and the 1st BCT. Both groups will soon deploy.

The reason for the visit was to get briefed about activities on the Mountain Post.

But when Casey met with media he discussed a whole set of topics facing the Army right now.

First: The lengths of time troops are deployed.

"We set a goal for ourselves back in 2007 that by 2011 we'd be one year out, two years back for the active service, and one year out, four back for the [National] Guard and Reserve," said Casey.

Casey says the Army is well on its way to meeting that goal.

And some of the troops at Fort Carson are already seeing longer times at home before heading back to war.

"There’s a few of these brigades here now that will have 18 months before they go back and it's a huge difference from having 12 months at home," Casey said.

Casey also talked about dealing with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He said Fort Carson has been a leader in working to address the problem.

Casey said he wants other posts to copy the way the Montain Post moved the mental health professionals from the hospital to the units so they can help soldiers deal with the effects of PTSD without the stigma of seeking mental health treatment.

"The human body and the human mind wasn’t made to deal with the brutality of combat for sustained periods. It just wasn’t," Casey said.

Casey talked about the challenges the Army faces if it reverses the policy about gays in the military, the "Don’t ask, don’t tell" put in place by President Bill Clinton.

"I think part of the challenge and part of the anxiety I see in the force is the uncertainty of how it might be implemented. I think if we can look at that and allay some of their concerns they might feel a little differently about it," Casey said.

Casey served 12 years at Fort Carson before leaving in 1987, and he says he always looks forward to coming back.