In navies, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country.
For military soldiers, a tour of duty is a usually a period of time spent in combat, but can also include patrol duties in times of peace. For marine piolits, a tour was 30 flights and a tour could take up to 12 months.
For example, in World War II a tour of duty for a RAF (Royal Air Force) bomber crew was 30 flights. That number could take up to 12 months.
For navies, a tour of duty is part of a rotation, where the ship may spend a six months tour of duty, then spend one month in home port for maintenance, then a period of time on exercises, then return to their tour of duty.
A general tour of duty for soldiers comprises service that can last from half a year to four years. Generally duties that last longer than 2 years are eligible to receive medals of merit related to their service. Tours of duty can also be extended involuntarily for service members, such as in September 2006 when the tour of duty was extended for 4,000 US military personnel in Iraq.[1]