STOP LOSS Veterans: You have until October 21 to claim your bucks!

[unhappycamper]

'Stop loss' back pay for US troops goes unclaimed
By Anna Mulrine, Staff writer / September 15, 2010
Washington

More than half of the money set aside to compensate troops who were involuntarily kept in the military beyond the end of their service contracts during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – a practice known as “stop loss” – has yet to be claimed, according to senior US defense officials.

Stop loss was a controversial program used frequently by the Pentagon during the height of the Iraq war. Often called a “back door draft,” it allowed the US military to keep soldiers and marines on active duty in war zones. This in turn meant that soldiers often served months beyond the date that they would normally be eligible to leave the military.

Some 186,000 US troops were stop-lossed in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to Pentagon officials.

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Pentagon officials say they have tried to reach out to eligible troops through Facebook and Twitter, as well as working with more than 95 veteran and service organizations across the country. The deadline to apply for the funds is Oct. 21, and the Defense Department is directing troops who are eligible to register at www.defense.gov/stoploss.