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Pay available for those held in service

About 9,600 current and former Marines are eligible for at least $500 through a new program that pays troops for the months they were kept on active duty by the Defense Department’s stop-loss policy, Marine officials said.

The program pays active-duty, former and retired service members $500 for every month and partial month — between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009 — that they were forced to remain on active-duty beyond their planned retirement or end-of-active-service date. The Corps used stop-loss from Jan. 7, 2002, through Sept. 30, 2003, a period that spanned planning stages for the invasion of Iraq and the war’s opening months.

About five employees will field Marine stop-loss claims at Manpower & Reserve Affairs’ headquarters aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., said Maj. Shawn Haney, a spokeswoman for the command.

Paper trail

Along with their claim, Marines seeking payment must provide a DD Form 214 separation document or other personnel records showing when they were originally approved to retire or separate from the service, and how long they were extended, according to Marine administrative message 624/09, released Oct. 23. Payment for most approved claims will be distributed within six to eight weeks of a Marine filing an application, Haney said.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will distribute payments electronically to approved Marines’ bank accounts. Applicants must ensure they provide proper routing and account numbers on their claim forms when submitting their requests.

The program is headed by the Defense Department and funded by the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriation Act, which set aside $534.4 million for payments across the services. The Pentagon announced its formation Oct. 21, saying service members have until Oct. 21, 2010, to submit their claim for retroactive stop-loss pay. Family members of deceased service members also may submit a claim, Pentagon officials said.

The Corps has established a Web site, an e-mail address and a toll-free hotline to field questions about the new policy. Officials also are notifying those who may be eligible by certified letter, Haney said.

TO FILE A CLAIM

The Stop-Loss Program Office at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., will field claims from current, former and retired Marines who may be eligible for retroactive stop-loss payments. To reach the office:

• Online: www.manpower.usmc.mil/stoploss.

• E-mail: stoploss@usmc.mil.

• Phone: 877-242-2830.