Gates, Army working out stop-loss payments

[unhappycamper]

Gates, Army working out stop-loss payments
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 3, 2009 21:20:51 EST

The snail’s-pace development of a plan to pay a monthly allowance of up to $500 for soldiers affected by stop-loss orders has not escaped Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has now taken a personal interest in getting the payments to 13,000 eligible soldiers.

Gates and Army leaders are negotiating final details for a proposal that could be announced within weeks to provide a congressionally approved payment that is expected to apply to 7,300 active-duty soldiers, 4,430 National Guardsmen and 1,452 Army Reserve members, according to testimony Tuesday before the House Armed Services military personnel panel.

Word on negotiations between Gates and Army leaders came from Dr. Curtis Gilroy, the Defense Department’s director of accession policy, who was the senior Pentagon witness at a hearing that was meant to focus on recruiting and retention programs.

Gilroy would not provide details or predict when, exactly, a final decision on the stop-loss payments would be announced.

However, Pentagon sources — speaking on the condition of anonymity — said the final stop-loss allowance policy may disappoint many people.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/military_stoploss_payments_030309w/%2e