Archives » Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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David Botti
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Apr 22, 2008 11:25 AM
The army announced yesterday that the practice of "stop-loss," where a
solider is held past his/her enlistment contract, should continue for
at least another year. While military leaders are making efforts to
reduce combat tour lengths, and increase the size of the army, the Associated Press reports
there are roughly 12,000 soldiers serving under the stop-loss. The
numbers break down to: "6,800 active-duty Army, about 3,800 in the Army
National Guard and close to 1,500 in the Reserves."
USA Today breaks down the numbers even further, putting the latest stop-loss news into a wider historical context:
-In May 2007 the practice of stop-loss reached a three-year low of 8,540.
-"Since then, the number of soldiers forced to remain in the Army rose 43% to 12,235 in March."
-"Soldiers affected by stop loss now serve, on average, an extra 6.6
months...Key leaders at the
small-unit level — sergeants through sergeants first class — make up
45% of those soldiers. Soldiers typically enlist for four-year stints."
-58,300 soldiers have been affected by the stop-loss since 2002.
People have often asked me what exactly a stop-loss is --
especially after they hear it referred to as the "back door draft."
First, USA Today offers this concise summary of how the army views the
policy: "Stop loss can keep a soldier in the service if his or her unit
deploys
within 90 days of the end of the soldier's commitment. It is necessary,
the Army says, to maintain the integrity of units headed to war."
Second,
I sometimes use the example of my own unit on the eve of the invasion
into Iraq back in 2003. Most of us in my reserve unit enlisted under a
six-year contract. That meant that for six years were would actively
train with our home unit, and be subject to mobilizations if ordered by
the president. Afterwards, we would spend two years in the Inactive
Ready Reserve (IRR) during which time we would not train, but would
still "be on the books," in case the military needed more troops.
In
March 2003, when my unit got word it was heading to Iraq, a number of
marines were reaching the end of their six-year contract. Depending on
how long we stayed in Iraq, their contract might end while they were
over there. It was these marines who were subject to stop-loss. They
were senior members of the unit whose experience would be invaluable
during the deployment, and our company would be hurt if our numbers
decreased. So, they stayed and deployed with us; then left the
military after returning home.
Most did not complain about
serving past their enlistment contract. Their buddies were going to
war, and the stop-loss marines wanted to go with them -- and, at that
point, the war was still new. Many felt they'd miss out on a major
historical event that would go down in the history books. But, times
have changed, and the war is more than five years old. As James
Martin, a social work professor at Bryn Mawr College and retired Army
colonel, told USA Today: "These are the guys who bear the brunt of it.
They just get put back into the grinder continually."
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