Kevin Malone spends his time hanging out with friends at a northeast barbershop. He is no stranger to the Fort Bliss entrance right across the bridge.

"I was in the Army for six years," he said.

He enlisted in the 80s when there were no combat zones, but it didn't mean he stayed on U.S. soil.

"I was deployed Honduras. They deployed me to Germany and deployed to Korea," said Malone.

His deployments did not last the 12 months they do now; Malone said they lasted 18 months.

In an interview with Army Times, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said they want to shorten combat deployments to nine months.

"A year to two years is fine," said Malone.

Casey said homecomings need to happen sooner. He said, according to a mental health assessment, between nine and 12 months is when stress and family problems really become evident for soldiers.

"When you join up, you join up too serve for the country, so you gotta understand you gotta make certain sacrifices," said Malone.

One family made a different kind of sacrifice. Their son, Ezra Gerald Smith, died when he was shot at point blank while walking to school in April 2009.

The man behind the gun was Sgt. Gerald Polanco. Army psychiatrists said he suffers from combat-related stress.

"Do you believe PTSD is really a problem?” KFOX 14 asked Malone. “I don't believe it is, not me," he said.

Malone said every soldier the challenges for which he or she is signing up for.

"Psychologically you should be able to handle it, because we are trained to handle that," said Malone.

Casey also wants to see soldiers be able to stay home three years before being redeployed, saying it takes 24 to 36 months to get over a yearlong deployment.

"If you're needed there, then why would you want to be home? We're here to serve our country and do what's right for the country," said Malone.

The decision on the nine-month deployment is not yet final, but Casey said realistically the changes wouldn't be able to be made until 2014.