"Army forces 50,000 soldiers into extended duty"
That is the title of an article by Will Dunham in Rueters press. Since I am a stop-lossed soldier anything dealing with the subject is of special interest to me. Let me start off by first saying that the number 50,000 is extremely misleading to the layman who tends to skim the headlines and not actually read the article. If you journy into the meat and potatoes of the article you discover that approximately 50,000 troops have been stopped from leaving the service since the policies creation in 1992. However the article does say approximately 12,500 soldiers are currently being held under this policy.
I'd love to see a more indepth study done on the affects of the stop-loss policy on the Army as a whole. Most of the people I know who have been stopped from leaving have grown extremely discontent and their morale is at an all time low. This angst spreads throughout the unit and is felt by troops who are new to the Army. I know many people who are basing their reasons for not re-enlisting off the views of the discontented. In the end the stop-loss policy is hurting the Army and the call of defense more than it's helping. Perhaps if the Army asked the people destined to ETS before or during a deployment to voluntarily extend their stay in exchange for some kind of incentive (extra money? bonuses? college? Use your imagination) then many people would choose to continue their service. These people would not be the sullen malcontented people many of the stop-lossed soldiers are. Let's face the facts, no one likes to forced to do something against their will. Now in the Army you are ordered to do numerous things everyday. When you join the military you except this, but the one thing you don't expect is to have the Army violate your contract and tell you that you will not leave the service. You attract more flies with honey than vinegar.
The seeds of discontent have been sown. How long till the fruit on the vine is ripe? How long till the nations forces are only a bare visage of what they once were? What happens then? Mandatory service? Oh how the nation; liberals, conservatives, do-nothings, and I don't cares; will scream with anger at the wrongs commited against them. I, safe in my having served my time, will sit back and laugh at them all. Our country is full of people who love to voice their opinion, but when it's time to step up and actually do something to push their agenda they back down into there corner with a hundred excuses as to why they don't have the time to stand up for their views and wait for someone else to do it for them.
(the last part is a generalization, I shouldn't have to say that but people seem to be uber-sensitive these days. I know plenty of conservative, liberal and independant people who go the extra mile and stand up for their views everyday. I do honestly believe that the majority of Americans are nothing but a bunch of blowhards.)
That is the title of an article by Will Dunham in Rueters press. Since I am a stop-lossed soldier anything dealing with the subject is of special interest to me. Let me start off by first saying that the number 50,000 is extremely misleading to the layman who tends to skim the headlines and not actually read the article. If you journy into the meat and potatoes of the article you discover that approximately 50,000 troops have been stopped from leaving the service since the policies creation in 1992. However the article does say approximately 12,500 soldiers are currently being held under this policy.
I'd love to see a more indepth study done on the affects of the stop-loss policy on the Army as a whole. Most of the people I know who have been stopped from leaving have grown extremely discontent and their morale is at an all time low. This angst spreads throughout the unit and is felt by troops who are new to the Army. I know many people who are basing their reasons for not re-enlisting off the views of the discontented. In the end the stop-loss policy is hurting the Army and the call of defense more than it's helping. Perhaps if the Army asked the people destined to ETS before or during a deployment to voluntarily extend their stay in exchange for some kind of incentive (extra money? bonuses? college? Use your imagination) then many people would choose to continue their service. These people would not be the sullen malcontented people many of the stop-lossed soldiers are. Let's face the facts, no one likes to forced to do something against their will. Now in the Army you are ordered to do numerous things everyday. When you join the military you except this, but the one thing you don't expect is to have the Army violate your contract and tell you that you will not leave the service. You attract more flies with honey than vinegar.
The seeds of discontent have been sown. How long till the fruit on the vine is ripe? How long till the nations forces are only a bare visage of what they once were? What happens then? Mandatory service? Oh how the nation; liberals, conservatives, do-nothings, and I don't cares; will scream with anger at the wrongs commited against them. I, safe in my having served my time, will sit back and laugh at them all. Our country is full of people who love to voice their opinion, but when it's time to step up and actually do something to push their agenda they back down into there corner with a hundred excuses as to why they don't have the time to stand up for their views and wait for someone else to do it for them.
(the last part is a generalization, I shouldn't have to say that but people seem to be uber-sensitive these days. I know plenty of conservative, liberal and independant people who go the extra mile and stand up for their views everyday. I do honestly believe that the majority of Americans are nothing but a bunch of blowhards.)
posted by L.J. Abershawe at 09:07
2 Comments:
Hey bro,
May I add that if anyone tries to justify this extension by bringing the IRR into the picture, they should immediatley shot themselves in the head. It was recently reported that a majority of people not reportig for IRR re-call have gotten off pretty light. While some have been sentenced to a year in jail, most have not. Sounds like a pretty good trade off if you really hate the idea of what's going on in the military these days.
Oh, by the way...I'm glad you enjoyed my NEW RULES posting. Be sure you check out WWMD? (What Would Mohammed Do?)
Later brother!
Slap a ribbon magnet on that.
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