Support the Stop-loss Compensation Act

Veterans for America (VFA) strongly applauds Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) for introducing H.R. 6205, the Stop-loss Compensation Act, which requires that U.S. servicemembers whose tours of duty are involuntarily extended, commonly known as "stop-loss," receive special pay for the duration of their extension.

More than 70,000 Soldiers have been stop-lossed since 2002. During the recent Iraq troop "surge," the number of troops stop-lossed reached 12,235. Such orders harm the morale of our fighting men and women and are nothing more than a short-term crutch for maintaining force levels. As Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said "we need to move away from [stop-loss] as rapidly as we can."

Of all the abuses borne by our servicemembers since the beginning of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, excessive reliance on stop-loss is one of the most egregious. Involuntary service negates the promise of our all-volunteer military. By forcing tens of thousands of troops to stay in the military, we have broken the contract that our servicemembers willingly entered into with their country.

VFA applauds Rep. Sutton's efforts to mitigate the burdens placed on our troops and their families by stop-loss orders. We encourage her colleagues in Congress to support this legislation.

Comments

[bgregs]

While I agree that stop-loss is a legal and sometimes necessary aspect of military service, I also agree that we should offer some sort of special compensation to those who are stop-lossed. Just like we offer re-enlistment bonuses to those who voluntarily stay in, we need to offer something to those who are INVOLUNTARILY staying in!

[egal]

This is one hugely welcome (if long-delayed) action that is only the first among many changes that must be made. We also need to put the military back in charge instead of forcing it to serve beneath mercenaries, reestablish the psychologically, legally, and militarily necessary leave and rest breaks between tours that must become shorter and further apart, put money back into Active Duty and Veterans medical facilities Bush stopped funding, and provide the best equipment and services to soldiers instead of rewarding no-bid contracts to Cheney's companies and paying for the lowest bids even when they are impossible and known to be faulty products.

[Ravoon]

For Ghod's sake, let's do SOMETHING for these people who are functioning as slaves in this bid for empire... Stopping Stop-Loss would be wonderful, but in the absence of that good can we PLEASE pay attention to their plight?
Thank you, Betty Sutton. And thank you, Bobby, for documenting this.