Pentagon to Phase out 'Stop-loss'

[unhappycamper]

Pentagon to Phase out 'Stop-loss'
March 18, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Army this summer will start cutting back on use of the unpopular practice of holding troops beyond their enlistment dates and hopes to almost completely eliminate it in two years. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, though, it may never be possible to completely get rid of the policy called "stop-loss," under which some 13,000 soldiers whose time is already up are still being forced to continue serving.

"I felt, particularly in these numbers, that it was breaking faith," Gates told a Pentagon press conference.

Though officials have the legal power to involuntarily extend soldier's service, "I believe that when somebody's end date of service comes, to hold them against their will, if you will, is just not the right thing to do," he said.

He said that he hoped any future use after 2011 would only be in "scores, not thousands."

Critics have called "stop-loss" a backdoor draft because it keeps troops in the military beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates. But the military has said it's a necessary tool to keep unit cohesion in times of war and to keep soldiers with certain skills needed in those units.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/March-2009/pentagon-to-phase-out-stop-loss.html