It’s about time I set the record straight – again – about this whole “stop-loss” business since the media, Hollywood, and anti-war advocates like to use it at every opportunity. Many call the stop loss program a “backdoor draft” when that simply isn’t true. Now, Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey has introduced legislation that would pay Soldiers affected by stop loss $1,500 per month beyond their ETS date. This is WRONG!! So, get comfortable, sit back, relax, and prepare to be educated.
Let’s get the boring legal stuff out of the way since this is the cornerstone of how the whole stop loss policy is possible (and legal!). I’ve said this before, but apparently people just aren’t listening to me. Every servicemember, regardless of branch of service, signs a DD Form 4/1, Enlistment/Reenlistment Document, Armed Forces of the United States. In very direct and unconfusing words, the document states in paragraph 10:
10. MILITARY SERVICE OBLIGATION FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE ACTIVE AND RESERVE COMPONENTS, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL GUARD.
a. FOR ALL ENLISTEES: If this is my initial enlistment, I must serve a total of eight (8) years. Any part of that service not served on active duty must be served in a Reserve Component unless I am sooner discharged.
Paragraph 13a further states:
I CERTIFY THAT I HAVE CAREFULLY READ THIS DOCUMENT. ANY QUESTIONS I HAD WERE EXPLAINED TO MY SATISFACTION. I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT ONLY THOSE AGREEMENTS IN SECTION B OF THIS DOCUMENT OR RECORDED ON THE ATTACHED ANNEX(ES) WILL BE HONORED.
The recruit not only signs underneath this statement in block 13b, but also initials at the end of that paragraph. Is there anyone here that does not understand that when you sign a contract you are obligated to fulfill it? Bueller? Bueller?
Sen. Lautenberg wants to pay Soldiers, who have already been rewarded with bonuses and other enticements, MORE money for fulfilling a contract they signed. His bill, S. 3060 (which I’ve read) will “require the payment of monthly special pay for members of the uniformed services whose service on active duty is extended by a stop-loss order or similar mechanism, and for other purposes.” Again, I refer to the contract above. I could understand if these Soldiers were being stop-lossed beyond that 8-year timeframe that these recruits agreed to, but this isn’t the case. But, even if it was, check out this little gem in paragraph 9c that is also included in the contract they signed an initialed:
c. In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States.
They agreed to serve up to six months beyond the premature Democratic withdrawal that will happen any day now. Now, to be fair, Lautenberg’s bill does make specific mention of those “whose enlistment or period of obligated service is extended, or whose eligibility for retirement is suspended” as being eligible for this carrot on a stick entitlement. But, I revert back to paragraph 9c of the enlistment contract. We’re at war, plain and simple, and therefore no one is really going beyond their obligation since their obligation “continues until six months after the war ends.”
Now, my critics will say, “but Bush declared the war over in 2004 when he so heroically landed on that aircraft carrier in his snazzy jumpsuit and declared ‘mission accomplished’.” I say to them, President Bush never declared the war over. Nor did he declare the war “Mission Accomplished.” As a matter of fact, he said quite the opposite.
We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We are pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. We have begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons, and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. We are helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. And then we will leave — and we will leave behind a free Iraq.
In reference to the “Mission Accomplished” banner behind him (actually, it wasn’t behind him – it was positioned on the USS Abraham Lincoln’s island), it was placed there to signify that the Lincoln had just completed the longest carrier deployment in recent history, logging over 100,000 miles, and was heading home. But, I digress… The war is still ongoing, though quickly winding down to a point where more troop redeployments are highly likely.
Our military is an all-volunteer force. No one is pointing a gun Joe and Jane Citizen to get them to sign the DD 4/1. No one threatened them with death or dismemberment for not volunteering for military service. None of us deserve money to do our jobs. We’re already getting paid!
Additionally, stop-loss is nothing new. It was used during Desert Storm, Kosovo, and other recent operations. It goes back further than that. Army enlistments have been getting extended since the Civil War. They happened in WWII, Vietnam, Korea and just about every operation since then. Sen Lautenberg’s bill would make payments retroactive to October 1, 2001. But, what about all those poor souls who also signed a DD Form 4/1 that were stop-lossed throughout all those years prior? Are they less worthy of these retroactive payments? World War II caused many more deaths and injuries on one day than all of Iraq and Afghanistan combined!! One would think they’d be more worthy of stop-loss payments than we are. And how are we going to pay for it? It is estimated that over 58,000 servicemembers have been stop-lossed in the past six years. With the average stop-loss lasting at least six months, it would cost AT LEAST a half BILLION dollars. However, some servicemembers have been stop-lossed for much longer than that, so naturally that number is the LOW end of what taxpayers would be coughing up. Perhaps, Lautenberg was stop-lossed himself during WWII and is trying to get HIMSELF some extra cash!!
Lautenberg has voted NO on every major bill to provide funding to troops in Iraq, so why would he want to spend MORE for those that are there. The fact is that Sen Lautenberg’s bill would practically force the military into bankruptcy in having to pay these troops that are stop-lossed. It’s sort of another back door method of trying to get the troops out of Iraq prematurely and at a great price. Stop-loss isn’t going away.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an audience of 600 soldiers at Fort Stewart today that the stop loss policy won’t end anytime soon, and he predicted a small rise in the number of troops forced to serve past their re-enlistment or retirement dates. According to the AP:
“I would like to see an end to the stop loss policy, but I don’t see it happening in the near future,” Mullen said during a question-and-answer session with the troops. “I see a slight growth in the next couple of years based on predictions right now.”
Say NO to S. 3060!! Well, doesn’t matter. He’s not even on the Armed Services Subcommittee so it probably won’t get anywhere anyway. But, if you’re in New Jersey….
There will be a study in April 2009 to see if the $500 can be authorized retroactively for stop loss service prior to Oct 2008.
I’m not holding my breath, but I’m glad it is law now.
All,
I have just hit my 4 yr. mark in the US Army and will be stop-lossed for 8 months to finish my 2nd tour. When finished my service will have 55 months TIS and 27 months in Iraq. Since reading alot of junk that is posted on this website, I currently looked at my contract and yes it does say that I have to serve 8 yrs in the military. I have to serve my 4 yrs active duty and 4 yrs IRR. I was not stupid when I joined the Army I was 21 and I asked alot of questions when I was at my MEPS station in Des Moines, IA. There is a big difference between active duty and Inactive Ready Reserve.
In the 4 yrs active duty I have been done my traning, went to Germany and deployed then to the States and deployed. I have not seen my son or any of my family other than 2 to 4 weeks a yr. I was planning to get out on my ETS date. I dont hate the Army or dislike it, it just is not for me. I dont not like to be stop-lossed or the fact of thinking about it, but if the Army is going to pay soldiers alittle more $ to keep them when they should be out and doing what they had planned what the hell is the problem with that. I have not yet heard a single person complain about the 3.9% cost of living pay increase in January or the past 4 yrs. The MGI Bill and SGLI increase and BAH for soldiers going to school, all of which go to every soldier and NCO in the Military. I have not heard one complaint about them from a single soldier I am serving with. One more is that soldiers serving in an OCONUS station when deployed get to also keep there Cola for that station while deployed and airborne soldiers as long as they have a qualifying jump 30 days prior to deploying also get to keep that pay the whole month. How many airborne missions you heard of here in Iraq other than Special Forces or Rangers if they even have jump missions.
I think the whole damn problem is that some can not stand the fact that the politics and government that we have change daily and they want to make the service better for all soldiers in the military. My father, grandfather, uncles, and great grandfather have all served in the Army and of the ones still alive do not see a problem with this stop-loss pay. To them it is better that it is happening now than it never to happen. So I will leave it at that and say unless you have not been stop-lossed or will be stop-lossed, most soldiers that are or have will not really give a cr-p about your personal feeling on the issue. For the NCO with 14 yrs in I would of also thought that in those yrs the Army would have taught you that you should keep your personal feeling to yourself or peers not your soldiers, cause if I was one of your soldiers and knew you wrote your arguements on this post, you would be getting relieved of your position. We want the facts here about when and how to get the damn money for us who deserve it, not your personal bias opinion on it, so how about when you are in your fancy office and you get that frago or Milper message on the info we need, you let us know.
CJ, you are “just plain awful”! But at least you make me laugh! I needed a laugh, seeing how I’m stop lossed and very much deserving of the money along with everyone else! Oh well, it got passed, so that proves your word doesn’t mean shit, or your opinion! I see the pull you have………NONE! hhahahahahah
I completely %100 agree with “I’m a Beast” and likewise CJ you are got me on the floor laughing. I’m also stop lossed, I came into the Army right after High School and signed up for 4 years active 4 reserve, emphasis on reserve. Every soldier that’s ever been Stop-lossed more then deserves some extra money every month past their ETS. I’m pissed that the law is not retroactive like originally planned. Their have been thousands of other soldiers ever since we started this “War on Terror” that have been stop-lossed and they won’t be compensated at all. The Fact that I am being held past my ETS and being forced to spend even more time away from my family and friends is just pure horse shit. I had to put all the plans I had of starting school, getting a job, a place, and starting a promising lucrative career on hold until the Army says I can go. SUPPORT THE TROOPS! FUCK YOU CJ
Beast and Dan,
Be still my bleeding heart. Let me just be clear that I never said I have any “pull”. This is political, plain and simple. If it weren’t an election year, your precious money would never have come up. Money that you don’t deserve that could better be spent on better weapons and armor. Congratulations on your windfall monthly bonus!! You should be proud. Both of you need to read your contracts that you signed up for 8 YEARS!!
Dan, you’re an ignorant Soldier that probably shouldn’t even be worth the stop loss. You can’t even communicate without profanity. Glad I’m not YOUR First Sergeant. That poor guy must have his hands full.
I wasn’t worth stop lossing because as soon as my ETS hit I quit working and right now I’m about as useful to the Army as a cap gun! And I’m damn proud of it!!! I’m glad your not my first sergeant either cause then youd be a women!!
CJ,
Let me tell you a little about myself. I am 27, I enlisted in the Army after high school. I have served beyond MY EIGHT YEARS! I reenlisted once to fulfill my 8 year obligation. And by the way it’s called “inactive reserve” My ETS date was Nov. 27 2007! We deployed two days afterwards. So I served my eight years. I am sure I could have fought it, but took it like a grain of salt. Im still here too! So I am more than deserving of the stop loss money!!! Guess what? I’m getting it too! Don’t blame the stop loss bill on you not receiving new weapons or armor! Not my fault your not in a combat mos and have to walk around with the M-16! The Army has been using the same weapon systems forever. Where I’m at we have all the new armored vehicles! Blame your bunk ass unit!
All I know is, it is election year and I got my money! Your logic sucks, get over it!
Eat a Dick Bitch! I’m sad I even share the same uniform as you! By the way, to be my First Sergeant you’ll have to be in the infantry and a BEAST! You can’t be on profile! So your eliminated from contention!
Beast, if you have served past your eight year requirement, I have made it clear that you DO deserve that money. I’ve said that many times over. I’m talking about useless pieces of flesh like Dan there who are a bane on this entire country; who have no integrity and honor and is getting $500 extra per month for being “about as useful to the Army as a cap gun”.
Now that you have told your story instead of just attacking PART of my message, I advise you to get a lawyer if you want out now. Your contract is specific about an eight year requirement and if you’re being held past that, you have a breach of contract dispute, plain and simple.
Finally, I work in the SF world. I haven’t seen an M16 since watching the History Channel. I work directly with Infantry units on combat patrols and kicking down doors. I’ve got probably better weapons than you’ve ever seen. Next time, try to pull the phallus out of your mouth long enough to articulate your point without ignorance and stupidity. You might actually get somewhere and put across an educational argument. You are educated, aren’t you?
Dan, you’re as useless as I thought and I’d ensure you left with a dishonorable discharge. Yes you are useless and proof that the Stop Loss bonus is being wasted.
People like you is one of the many reasons I hate the Army.
CJ
The more you post the clearer the reason for your position on the stop loss. People in SF units generally have a stronger desire to serve the country and because of that fact the Army tends to spend more money for SF units. SF units will receive more money and newer equipment. Bonuses for SF are higher, most regular army guys will not recieve a bonus if not deployed when they reup. Special pays are higher, most SF Soldiers recieve special pays, most regular Army guys do not. SF Soldiers more than likely have earned everything they recieve (money of equipment). When a Soldier in the SF desires to ETS all they have to do is notify their chain of command and they are out when the time comes. I know of three guys that were in SF units with my MOS and rank who were allowed to leave with no questions asked. Why? Their unit agreed to it and lived up to their word. SF will entice another person to join their ranks and all is well for them, not so in the regular Army. I do not want to start an argument between the regular Army and SF, I am just high lighting some differences.
Stop loss is not about money or patriotism. It is about someone that has made a decision to no longer serve their country and being forced to serve after that time. If they are beyond their contractual eight years they should be allowed to ETS. Soldiers that are still within the initial eight year commitment should face reality and serve their nation as they swore to do.
With all that said, we need something to deter abuses that happen when a Soldier is retained under stop loss. The asinine practice of applying stop loss across an entire division is out of control. CSM’s have said the main reason for stop loss is that we have the numbers to fight the war. Has anyone ever noticed that the Fobbits almost always out number the guys who actually fight the war, that see the enemy everyday. The Army would do better to entice Soldiers to stay active duty by showing them that there are better jobs and opportunities, thus keeping the number higher. Stop loss is not a positive solution, it could be useful if it were selective and because it is not selective a stipend of $500 a month might cause leaders to reassess the way they use stop loss. As I stated in an earlier post the funds for stop lossed Soldiers should come directly out of the division level funds, which would stop the blanket stop loss practice. DA applies stop loss when the division requests the Soldier by name and SSN.
We demand that our Soldiers live up to their word everyday and we ourselves (NCO’s and Officers) lead lives of double standards by allowing the abuses of stop loss to continue. If we are really taking care of our Soldiers needs we will fight to get them exempt from the stop loss policy. Almost every NCOER in the duties and scopes block will start off something like this “Responsible for the health, welfare, training and morale of X amount of Soldiers”. If are truly focusing on our duties and scopes we would fight to help get these guys out instead of spending a heck of a lot more effort keeping them in. Time we face that fact and stop abusing Soldiers just because of a legal loophole. Paying them for the extra time we are demanding is not unrealistic; it’s taking care of our Soldiers.
Dan, that’s fine. It’s people like you that bring the Army down. You won’t get any sympathy from me. You want sympathy? Buck up and do something! Your stop lossed. Deal with it. Instead, you choose to make EVERYONE’s life harder by being a pain in the ass. I have no patience for you. You’re a drain on resources. If you want people to care about your plight, you have to put forth an effort. Lack of effort will not be rewarded.
RK, first of all, I don’t get all those SF bonuses because I’m not 18 series. However, those guys that DO get the bonuses and extra pay deserve what they get. THey are working harder than the regular Army and go through more crap. They are a specialized group of Soldiers. Here’s a question for you: what do you think about stop-loosed losers like Dan? Do you support his actions?
CJ
I never intended to take away from the SF guys in anyway. They have earned everything they get. As far as Soldiers like Dan. If Dan has served his eight years he should be allowed to ETS, if not then life is tough.
As I quoted in reference in NCOER’s that the duties and scopes block will start off something like this “Responsible for the health, welfare, training and morale of X amount of Soldiers”. I am now in my forth deployment that has stop lossed Soldiers. Most of these Soldiers have continued to serve with honor. But there is percentage that will be a huge burden to the unit. As I stated in other post, they have made a mental decision to ETS. They probably have plans for school, future employment or family obligations. Because of the fact that these Soldiers have made the decision get out we as leaders should recognize this fact and use every effort to get these people an exception to policy. If that Soldier is essential to the mission, he is not going to be replaced or cannot be replaced then we as Leaders need to counsel the Soldier to let him know that he is valuable to the unit. This counseling needs to take place well before the stop loss policy is placed in effect.
The way stop lossed Soldiers are treated is that their ETS is anytime from 90 days prior to or somewhere in the deployment. They never get counseled by anyone, they are simply told to get one the plane and to at ease. Essentially they feel shanghaied. It should be they responsibility of the SGM/CSM to counsel these Soldiers. The reason for this is that the SGM/CSM are the ones that are telling their boss that these people are needed. Commanders at the Battalion level need to interview these Soldiers prior to stop loss, because they might be the one enforcing UCMJ when these Soldiers rebel.
Stop loss could be a good tool if used correctly. The real issue is that stop loss is applied in a blanket manner. Our leaders have become lazy, they cannot look a Soldier in the eye and tell them why they are being retained, and that is the real issue.
Any stop lossed Soldier should be compensated with money, $500 a month is nothing compared to the extra life that Soldiers are giving. There is nothing else for Army to give, with the exception to a honorable discharge and an award for a job well done.
CJ, I agree with you 100% about how the leaders deal with the stop loss. The majority of my brigade is stop lossed, 12 people just in my platoon including my PL. I know that none of us were counseled on why we were being stop lossed, they basically handed us a list that said “Change Of ETS” I mean we knew we stop lossed because our unit had to deploy and what not but the thing that bugs me is now that we are towards the end of our deployment we are getting a barrage of new people in. I asked why we were getting them all so late in the deployment and they said it was to replace me and the other guys, it confuses me cause it seems like thats what they should’ve done about 15 months ago. I think it’s due to the fact that when it comes to giving soldiers bad news the leaders just don’t want to deal with having to answer a whole lot of questions that they don’t wanna answer so they type up a memo and say “send this to all the battalions and companies” Thats just my take on it from my personal experiences.
Ive read all of your posts. And you are correct on everything you have put into word. However, you have missed one small detail. The war is over. “US President George Bush says the war is over and a new era in Iraq can begin.” Hmmmm.
So, i get your point on what your saying. But you should now all the facts. Oh, i did 8 years, when i finish ill have 9 and a half. So dont make your little comments about there not being anybody that hasnt reached that point just because you dont personally know them. Also, just so you know. Im not mad about being stop-lossed. My contract was never fullfilled because they never held up there end of the deal, however im still here, in Iraq, serving my country.
Im mad cause your an idiot!
Michael, congratulations on being in Iraq. I’ve been there a few times myself. If you actually “read all my posts” you would see how ignorant your statement. Before you get into a pissing match you’re going to lose, why don’t you go ahead and take the time to do so now.
CJ,
You are a piece of s()t to say the least and as for your nco status great job becoming one..we all know you most likely recieved the rank and more money just because you went over seas(moron)…listen 1500 a month is nothing for the sacrifice that men and woman are making everyday in the combat zone…..we signed up willing to give at least eight years of our life to the united states of america, and as for our grandfathers and fathers that served, well you know we appreciate that and our country does as well…as for your dumba@@ statement saying we dont deserve b@h, that is crap because our familys do…honestly maybe u are the one that doesnt deserve it because you have three children and a wife that you just wrote doesnt….are you nuts sh%th#ad…..lol, congress has learned from mistakes made by older generations and for all the people that serve…even you…we deserve everything and more because you can never and I mean never put a price tag on one single life….give me and every soldier millions…..guess what our familys and as well as us deserve more money then we can ever be offered…..take care and thanks for breaking down the law for all of us, even though nobody agrees with you….take care my dear friend who was promoted for being over seas nco…
cj,
one more thing…..being promoted and recieving more money over seas is not an awful thing…..just wish they didnt give you nco status because an nco is supposed to want the most for its soldiers..you dont…and you dont get it at all….IDIOT
Wow!!!
It is difficult to understand postings that have so many grammar errors. Are you even in the U.S. military? It seems that the school systems in the United States are failing. James, if you want to engage in an intelligent dialogue try to spell the words correctly and try using capital letters for proper names. Next try to calmly state your position on the issue. Dumb people use poor grammar and spelling and are often not taken seriously. James, please seek an education or use MS Word next time and spell words correctly. Try not to hate, even though you do not agree. CJ is not an NCO because he has served overseas (not over seas), he is a NCO because other people have seen something in him that says that he is intelligent, trustworthy and capable of making sound decisions. James one day, if you are worth anything, you will become a NCO or officer, remember where you are now, keep that in mind. Because when you get promoted to whatever rank, the lower ranking Soldiers will believe to you are the dumbest person to ever walk the earth, much the same way you view your current leaders. And if you get out do not think that the same thoughts are not shared among the civilians, they are people to. That thought gives me solace everyday; I am guilty of such an ignorant thought. As far as money is concerned: I am still waiting for my $500 a month stop loss payment. To refresh anyone that has not read my postings, I am over 20 years, have an approved retirement and was later denied what was promised. My family receives BAH because the military swore to provide it to married Soldiers, not single Soldiers.
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
Jason, do you read English? If so, do you understand it? My statement about BAH was, to quote myself, “I also don’t think married Soldiers deserve MORE BAH than single Soldiers.” (emphasis added) Why do I deserve more money because I decided to have a bunch of a kids and get married (I’m married with three kids, by the way)? Of course, if you didn’t understand me the first time I said it, I don’t expect you to understand me this time. I’m just hoping you invested in a dictionary. Of course, we deserve BAH, but there should be equity. Why do we create classes within the military – haves and have nots? But, you’re probably a socialist who likes that sort of stuff anyway.
Personally, Jason, I think you’re in it for the wrong reasons. Probably didn’t graduate high school and had to get a GED, based on your writing. Therefore, you HAVE to be in the military maybe. Either way, it sounds like you joined for all the wrong reasons. “WE DESERVE IT”?! What kind of crap is that? Doesn’t sound like the kind of humble attitude Soldiers should possess to me.
I don’t care if you agree with me or not. The law is the law whether you like it or don’t. Oh, and I’ve never been overseas that wasn’t a deployment. I got my promotions taking care of trash like you. I want my Soldiers to have everything they DESERVE! And I bet I do more to ensure they get it than you could possibly even imagine.
Hey whats going on. Holy cow seems like cj needs someone to help him with his defense on why stop loss pay sould not go through. I’m not going to be a big help, Im just going to lightin the mood here, with a story of mine. I was originaly just surfin the net here in Iraq. by the way it is pretty nice over here. We have phones Internet games Its alot better now. I only have 30 min. left so Ill have to make this quick. you know these locals down here are strick on time limits. Anyways like I was saying I was surfin looking to see if the stop loss pay went though, and I ran across this blog. Im not going to lie Its alot to read like my contract so I just skimmed most of it, sorry. Oh and I have to mention I am one of those as you mentioned “stop lossed losers”, but please dont refer to me as such. I have not finished my full eight years. I served my 4 years and was out processing. I was heading out the door to go on termanal leave, which I pupously put on my birthday, witch was a mistake. So ya had a job lined up already had my interview. Just bought a house, because I needed some were to live, and now stop lossed, on my birthday. So there went all my plans down the drain and no I didnt go on leave so my family did not get to see me. My unit was just gitting back from there leave and then we all deployed. Im going on 15 month stop lossed. out here I have my 3 month left and 3 when I get back. It was kind of wierd out here, everyone left me alone because they thought I would be angry all the time. I was actully told by my reinlistment NCO that It would be better to just re up so I could at least get some money out of this. Hes a little slow so I left him alone with my big list of why Im not reinlisting. Why would I re up when I know that if I do I will just be stop lossed again. The bad part is my solders see my peers all becoming E6′s and Im not when asked why, I have to tell them because Im stop lossed. My solders know that if they re up now even if its only for 2 years, they need to expect 4 years and not plan on advancing, and thats something I really dont wont to patray because truthfully I love my job here in the army. Its just a bunch of small things and other storys that I dont have time to tell right now, that is telling me to get out. well that was not the story I wonted to tell I’m sorry for going on that really long tangent, but I figured I’d give my backroung and vent a little. so anyways back to my story to lightin the mood. CJ earlyer you stated “And don’t tell me about my “negative” beliefs. I’m the most positive person you’ll ever meet. But, I’m also a realist. You don’t like the fact that you’re not going to get paid for doing your job in this man’s Army, get the hell out!! It’s that simple. I tell my Soldiers straight up I’m not going to talk them into staying if they don’t want to. And I get them everything I can if they do.” I read that get the hell out line and it reminded me of a story when I was in Korea….. One day a bradly was cunducting a field exercise and ran over a little girl in a near by city. I was on Camp Page. On this day they were Morning her loss with a small protest at our gates. And of course we were all on lock down. The all had sighns that said “Americans get out” and other stuff like that. Well In our unit we had this one solder. He was like Dan. Just plane angry with the army. So there I am sitting in my room looking out my door with a good view of the angry protesters, and of course a beer in hand, when I see little (for refernce sake well name him dan) dan go running out to the gate with no shirt on and two broom sticks. at the ends of the broom stick he taped a sighn to it in reply to the locals. The sighn said ” I wont to go home but they wont let me” well he got his wish I never saw him again. Well I hope you got a laugh out of that. My main point is were stop lossed and I cant go home. Well I guess I could if I ran around with our a shirt, or played gay, or crazy, or shot my self like the so many other dans. and may be money is what we should get may be leave dates to replace the days we should have been with our familys. So back to my origanal reason for being on here did the bill go though for sure? Well no time to spell check this sorry.
Why would a government adopt a policy of stop loss after a major conflcit. It’s brutal on our forces whether it’s being discloused or not. I don’t agree with the policy because it’s socialst in nature. When secret societies dictate our war policies so that their children are excluded from war , we have abandoned our democratic process to allow a submersive process of collusion to dictate our nations
political policies. Don’t we have a right to know how our government works ?
Is the military program of Stop Loss directly related to the repercussion of Watergate and should these policies be halted ? When Mark Felt { Deep Throat } leaked the information that a policy of war had been signed into our Executive that would exclude certain members and sectors of our society from having to serve in the military , are the current policies of Stop Loss what they had in mind ? Although the Stop Loss policy has some redeeming benefits , it’s long term goals are mainly responsible for the fatigue and exhaustion of our current troops. The personal effort in the military has become so desperate that you have some soldiers serving in war zones while taking psychological medications and sleeping pills. Considering the long and short term effects of this policy , it appears genocidal in nature and unfair to the military personnel that have so boldly volunteered to serve and defend our country. Please take a minute through the holiday season and think about the people defending your nation and write your legislators and demand the program of Stop Loss be stopped.
Reference = All The President’s Men / Un Censored – Warner Editions 1st Edition – ( Simon And Shuster are all Censored )
Reported that Mark Felt Leaked that A System To Delete The Need For War was signed into the Executive and that a Black Operational Government had been incorporated into our government.
Its been my experience that only individuals who are not currently stop lossed play the “you signed the contract card”. After 5 years of active duty and 6 years as a reservist, I finally decided to cut my losses and return to civilian life full time. Not so fast, the Army feels otherwise. I was stop lossed with less than 3 months remaining on my 6 year contract. Guaranteed to spend at least another 12 months in. When I signed my last contract, I was 23 years old. I am now 29, alot of things have happened in those past 6 years. I find that the stop loss policy is appauling. What is the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps doing that the Army cant? Those branches haven’t used stop loss since 2001/2002. The Army has been consistantly meeting or exceeding its recruiting goals for months now. Why do they continue to use stop loss? They claim that unit cohesion will be affected. How does one explain those sections that are comprised of 40 to 50% of back fills and volunteers from other units? I would say there isn’t mush cohesion there anyways. They can afford to let soldiers ETS without affecting cohesion. Because the Army is meeting or exceeding its recruiting goals, bonuses are going to decrease, that you can almost be assured. President Bush signed the stop loss payment bill on September 30th, 2008. Those individuals stop lossed will be (eventually) payed up to $500 per month in fiscal year 09, for being stop lossed. Why not eliminate stop loss and keep re-enlistment bonuses at current levels for those who wish to continue to serve. They are going to pay people who are stop lossed and reduce re-enlistment bonuses, makes no sense at all.
Well this is a new one for me. I see all of the soldiers, airman, saliors and Marines comments. I agree with most and am shocked at the author of this article. Having served for 21+ years, it saddens me to see that there are still people in the US that do not understand the facts of what it takes to serve our nation, in the military. I was that straight out of high school get the money for college kid. After serving my first enlistment I decided to stay for another one. Out of duty to my country. Less than 0.5% actually serve in the military. THAT is appauling. We stand and do not question what we are told to do. That is our duty. The other 95.5% has the choice to either support us or not. We guarentee that choice.
Now because Congress has decided to give us something they(the 95.5%) are not getting for us giving them their choices they want to bring up stuff that was put into our contracts. Be concerned for money given to banks and mortage companies. We earned it , did they. I was stop lossed 19 days prior to my retirement, for 18 months.
If you have never put on the uniform for any branch of the services then please keep your mouth tightly closed and be glad that others did, FOR YOU. Personally I am very proud of my service and will always support anything that Congress or anyone does that is meant to help my brothers in uniform, so should every other citizen the the United States.
CJ, you’re an idiot military lifer that I see all too often and can’t wait to get away from. If you think that it’s BS that somebody gets stop-loss pay for serving their ACTIVCE duty part of the contract, then why should they recieve any of the entitlements that any members of the service get. The fact is these people served once (or more) and were asked to go back again, and did, even though they should have RIGHTLY been moving on with their life.
I’m on stop loss orders right now, and honestly it doesn’t bother me, I was going to try to re-enlist for 7 months so I could deploy with my unit if I didn’t get stop lossed. The one point that no one has made is if you re-enlist you get a bonus, so if you get stop lossed why not get some kind of a bonus? If you don’t support the $500 a month for stop loss do you support any bonuses for re-enlistment?
From a deployed Stop-Lossed soldier…
1)Is it legal? Unfortunately, yes.
Now that this is out of the way let’s answer the question that MATTERS… Is it WORTH (who cares if it is legal this is NOT the point) additional compensation? I believe it is. Let me just remind people that congress and the army don’t pass bill or pay soldiers extra money because they wronged them legally. That is not what this is. For example, if you are deployed and married you get an extra “seperation” pay. Is this because the Army can not, by law, separate you from your family and this is there way of “settling” some sort of legal wrong-doing? LoL, no it is not. Did these married soldiers not understand or read their contract and get the idea that they MAY have to seperate from their families? You see my point? this is not what it is about. Congress realizes, that however legal it is, because soldiers are Stop Loss at such a low percentage (1% reports the army times since 2002) then obviously we plan for a future on the outside once our four (or whatever u signed up for it out) years of service is up so when you find out THREE months before you are supposed to sign out that you will be stop lossed then that means those Resumes you just sent out to the Fire Departments, the university you applied for and got into, and the family events you were scheduled to go to (all things that happened to me) mean NOTHING now. So if the Army wants to be a stand-up organization (actually we can thank congress since.. to be honest in my experience I don’t find the Army to be “stand up” by any definition of the term) and say “Hey SPC. XYZ, we know we only get about 1% of you guys and you just got the short end of the stick since 99/100 get OUT on time, so we’re gonna give you a little something extra.” then obviously I am fine with this and I do not see WHY anyone else would have a problem with it.
Ryan, you are absolutely right about the legality issue. You are also right that married Soldiers get “separation pay” while deployed. I also think this is wrong! I don’t think married Soldiers (and I am one) should get more money for the same deployment as a single Soldier. We need to get rid of this entitlement mentality in the military because we are single, married, stop-lossed, black, female, white, gay, etc.
The bottom line with stop loss is that it should NOT be paid if the troop is within their 8-year requirement that they signed up for. If they are stop-lossed beyond that 8-year mark, then yes they deserve it! I could care less if only one or one thousand are affected, we’re spending tax dollars for coddle troops that volunteered for eight years. Our government is turning us into welfare babies and entitlement hogs. Whatever happened to the “service” in military service?!
I have a problem with it because we’re paying troops more money for something they voluntarily entered into. If you think you’ve been wronged because of job offers (which you didn’t mention – just resumes) and other plans, seek a waiver and go that route. I sympathize with you. I know it sucks. I’ve made plans for my family at one duty station, only to find out literally days prior to my final out that my orders were changed and I’m going to a completely different state! It sucks, but we deal with it. We’re Soldiers, not welfare babies!
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