FARGO, N.D. (AP) - President Bush's request for thousands more troops in Iraq has this city's police chief asking for more officers.

Chief Keith Ternes said half of his department's 12 vacant positions are due to officers being called for military service, and he is asking city commissioners for four more officers.

Ternes also submitted a request last August to hire four officers, but the problem has resurfaced. The police force is in "basically the same staffing dilemma with no immediate relief in sight," Ternes said in his letter to commissioners.

"If the phone rings today and (military officials) need three, four or five more officers, we will have no other choice than to seriously consider cutting some programs," he said.

Some cuts already have been made, Ternes said.

"Our investigation staff operates with not nearly enough personnel, and I'm discouraged by all issues regarding methamphetamine trafficking," he said. "These issues have not declined due to lack of officers."

Mayor Dennis Walaker has pledged support for the police department.

"We'll do what we can to assist them," he said. "I think everyone in the nation will be happy when the Iraq war is over."

Jim Kringlie, a Fargo police officer deployed with the Minnesota National Guard, is one of the soldiers whose duty in Iraq has been extended by up to 125 days. He has been in Iraq for nearly a year.

"You're angry," said Kringlie's wife, Sheila. "It's a really difficult thing to have to deal with."

Minnesota's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Larry Shellito, said the soldiers will be back no later than July, but it is not known whether their mission will change. They have been performing a variety of duties in all parts of Iraq.

North Dakota National Guard soldiers are not affected by the president's plans for the troop surge in Iraq, said Don Canton, a spokesman for Gov. John Hoeven.