SwiftVets.com

[Hesiod]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20040602/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_military_4

"WASHINGTON - The Army will prevent soldiers in units set to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from leaving the service at the end of their terms, a top general said Wednesday.

The announcement, an expansion of an Army program called "stop-loss," means that thousands of soldiers who had expected to retire or otherwise leave the military will have to stay on for the duration of their deployment to those combat zones.


The expansion affects units that are 90 days away or less from deploying, said Lt. Gen. Frank L. "Buster" Hagenbeck, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel. Commanders have the ability to make exceptions for soldiers with special circumstances; otherwise, soldiers won't be able to leave the service or transfer from their unit until they return to their home base after the deployment.

The move will allow the Army to keep units together as they deploy, Hagenbeck said. Units with new recruits or recently transferred soldiers would not perform as well because the troops would not have had time to work together.

"The rationale is to have cohesive, trained units going to war together," Hagenbeck said.

Previously, the Army had prevented soldiers from leaving certain units scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq. But Wednesday's move is the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, that the stop-loss program has been ordered so widely.

The announcement comes as the Army is struggling to find fresh units to continue the occupation of Iraq. Almost every Army combat unit has faced or will face deployment there or in Afghanistan, and increased violence has forced the deployment of an additional 20,000 troops to the region, straining units even further.

Some criticize the stop-loss program as contrary to the concept of an all-volunteer military force. Soldiers planning to retire and get on with their lives now face months away from their families and homes.

In an opinion piece in Wednesday's New York Times, Andrew Exum, a former Army captain who served under Hagenbeck in the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, called the treatment of soldiers under stop-loss programs "shameful."

"Many, if not most, of the soldiers in this latest Iraq-bound wave are already veterans of several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan," he wrote. "They have honorably completed their active duty obligations. But like draftees, they have been conscripted to meet the additional needs in Iraq."


President Bush: "Showing genuine leadership in times of change (so long as non-rich people are doing all the work and making all the sacrifices)"

[Grampa]

This is old news. This stop loss policy went into effect back in January 2004. The policy merely applies the same rules to Active Duty soldiers that have been applied to National Guard and Reserve soldiers when their units get mobilized: No one can ETS, PCS or retire before the unit gets home and 90 days have passed.

That Captain needs to shut his hole and Charlie Mike. We sure had to.
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Iraqi Freedom 2003-2004. We won't take any of that 1960s crap when We come home!

[95 bxl]

Yeah? And? Most of us that have actually served (unlike yourself, of course) have been caught by an extension at one time or another.

So, what's your point?

[Airedale]

All short timers remeberd this;
Everyone who takes the oath and serves know that their EAOS date can always be pushed back. It happens a lot actually.

It's nothing new. It's not like the paycheck stops while the $h!t's hitting the fan.

Back to the subject, it pretty much states the troops in Iraq are a valuable resource. They are locked and loaded with knowledge.
They are to spread that wealth of experience to all those green horns and those returning to country, ect.
imo,
They can and will suck it up as they have been trained.

Afterall, they haven't gone soft and "set in their ways" as I have

[Primus]

Has this person "Hesiod" ever served? The Air Force went total stop loss after 9/11. Then gradually eased it and released different career fields as needed until finally went off it totally. Stop loss can be engaged at any time according to mission requirements. I can certainly see why stop loss was engaged for units deploying to the AOR. It's both prudent and necessary.

[War Dog]

This is no big deal!

War Woof!
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"When people are in trouble, they call the cops.

When cops need help, they call the K-9 unit."