Sec. Gates: Stop-loss will continue through 2009 at least

Think Progress
Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008

During a press conference today, Secretary of State Robert Gates was asked whether he foresaw an end to the practice of stop-loss — where military personnel can be forced to remain in the military even after completing their enlistment terms — by 2009. “No, I don’t,” Gates replied, though he added that he opposes the policy, which many soldiers call a “backdoor draft,” and will work to end it:

As I’ve indicated before, I’ve pressed on stop-loss ever since I got this job because I don’t like it. But a significant percentage of those who are stop-lossed are NCOs [Non-Commissioned Officers] and the concern of the Army is that if you don’t use stop-loss you end up gutting a unit of its experienced leadership. But I hope that fairly soon, and especially with the draw-downs in Iraq, that we will begin to see a further decline in stop-loss.

Watch it:

 

Between May 2007 and March 2008, “the number of soldiers forced to remain in the Army rose 43% to 12,235.”

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One Response to “Sec. Gates: Stop-loss will continue through 2009 at least”

1. tonto Says:
   December 3rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm

   The practice stop-loss is another abuse of the American soldier.The Bush administration has shown total disregard of the rights of the American military and has no sense of fair play.Some of these soldiers have had 5 tours of combat duty ,I think that goes beyond the duty expected from a soldier.Men that take bonuses for re-enlistment are penalized if they suffer injuries and no longer can serve in the military.Veterans that use the V.A. are billed for non service connected illnesses unless have 100% percent disability rating.Veterans that apply for compensation for injuries suffered in the service as a rule are turned down flatly,and the ones
   that are granted compensation wait up to 7 years for a settlement.The men that fought in world war 2 did not receive one penny more then there pay after the war.Only new York state gave a $250. bonus after the war.I think that these men and women deserve better treatment then this
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