Military News, News From Iraq & Afghanistan - Military Times

Director campaigns for stop-loss payments

The chief sponsors of a bill that would pay $1,500 a month to troops forced to remain in the military are ramping up their efforts in hopes of getting the proposal included in the 2009 defense authorization bill.

To drum up support, they invited the woman who directed and help write the movie “Stop-Loss” to talk about the cause. The writer-director, Kimberly Peirce, said she learned about the policy when her younger brother, Brett, who was serving in Iraq, told her his best friend was held in the Army by stop-loss orders.

Peirce said she has heard complaints from military families as she traveled around the country promoting the movie about how the stop-loss program, which delays separations and retirements, has disrupted lives.

Peirce said that about 70,000 troops have been stop-lossed since operations begun in Afghanistan and Iraq. In March, the number of soldiers being involuntarily held in the Army was 12,235. Soldiers affected by stop-loss serve an average of six and a half extra months beyond their planned separation or retirement dates.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., the chief Senate sponsor of the bill that orders a $1,500 payment for each month of extended service, blamed poor planning for the war and recruiting problems for what he called the “unjust holding” of service members.

One hurdle facing the bill is its cost. Neither Lautenberg nor Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, the chief sponsor of a companion bill in the House, knew how much the bill would cost and where the money would come from. Sutton said she expected the Pentagon to figure out how to pay if Congress approves the new payment.

Sutton said stop-loss places “unjustifiable strain” on service members and hurts morale.

Lautenberg said the $1,500 payment is “not a cure-all, but it does provide some help.”