General: Army Will Need 'Stop-Loss' Through '09

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Forum Spin Doctor
Houston Chronicle
April 22, 2008 By Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — It will be more than a year before the Army can end the practice of forcing soldiers to stay in the service beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates, a top official said Monday.
Lt. Gen. James D. Thurman, deputy chief of staff for operations, said he hoped that wartime demand for troops will decline enough by around the fall of next year to end "stop-loss." He said there are more than 12,000 serving under the practice — an action that critics have called a "backdoor draft."
Thurman also said that as officials continue to increase the size of the Army, it could be possible by the fall of 2011 for troops to be home two years for every year they are deployed.
The two issues of stop loss and long tours of duty have been among the Pentagon's most disliked practices among troops. Thousands have been forced to stay in the service beyond their contracts since the start of the global war on terrorism. And tours of duty were increased to 15 months from 12 months a year ago so the Army could come up with the extra forces President Bush ordered for the troop buildup in Iraq.
With most of the extra troops being drawn down by the end of July, Bush early this month ordered the tours cut back to 12 months, a move Thurman said would help the Army begin to restore its balance.
"We want to reduce the strain and stress on our soldiers and our families," he told a Pentagon news conference.
There are currently 17 Army combat brigade teams deployed — 15 in Iraq and two in Afghani-stan. Two are scheduled to come out of Iraq in the drawdown.
 
USA Today
April 22, 2008
Pg. 1
More Forced To Stay In Army
Policy counter to Gates' 2007 order to Pentagon
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today
WASHINGTON — The Army has accelerated its policy of involuntary extensions of duty to bolster its troop levels, despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates' order last year to limit it, Pentagon records show.
Gates directed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service secretaries to minimize mandatory tour extensions, known as "stop loss," in January 2007. By May, the number of soldiers affected by the policy had dropped to 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. The reliance on stop loss has increased as the military has sent more troops to Iraq and extended tours to 15 months to support an escalation in U.S. forces ordered by President Bush. The increase last month was driven by the need to send more National Guard soldiers to Iraq.
Soldiers affected by stop loss now serve, on average, an extra 6.6 months, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. Key leaders at the small-unit level — sergeants through sergeants first class — make up 45% of those soldiers. Soldiers usually enlist for four-year stints.
"Secretary Gates understands the hardship stop loss poses to our troops and their families, but he also understands the need to maintain cohesive units on the battlefield throughout deployment," Morrell said. "Troops who have trained together and fought together should remain together."
The trend is alarming, said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who wrote a letter on April 17 to Gates urging him "in the strongest terms" to limit stop loss. Shays says the policy hurts morale, burdens troops' families, damages the credibility of military leaders and threatens recruiting.
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. In all, 58,300 soldiers have been affected by stop loss since 2002, according to the Army. That's about 1% of active duty, Reserve and National Guard troops.
The policy shows the Army is "unraveling a bit" while "under tremendous strain," said Rep. Joe Sestak, a Pennsylvania Democrat and retired vice admiral.
Lt. Gen. James Thurman, Pentagon deputy chief of staff for operations, said Monday that he hoped the Army could stop mandatory extensions by fall 2009.
Although soldiers understand the reasons for stop loss, it doesn't boost morale, said Robert Sauder, 24, a staff sergeant retained in 2006 when he was preparing to leave the service. Sauder, of Baroda, Mich., said he "was pretty sour about the whole situation."
 
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