Army To Force Troops To Fight Longer

Extending Soldiers' Commitments Through "Stop Loss" Will Continue

(CBS/AP)  The U.S. Army will continue to rely on an unpopular program that forces some soldiers to stay on beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates, despite repeated pressure from Defense Secretary Robert Gates to reduce and eventually eliminate the practice.
Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, deputy chief of staff for personnel, said Thursday that the number of soldiers kept on duty has actually increased in recent months as a result of President Bush's orders to increase troop levels in Iraq this year to help quell the violence.

The number of those being kept on beyond their commitment -- through a program known as "stop loss" -- is about 9,000 now, compared to about 7,000 before the troop buildup began in late January, he said.

"Until there is some reduction in the demand, we're going to have to rely, unfortunately ... on stop loss," Rochelle told reporters. "Until the demand comes down a bit, we can't do it without it."

As recently as last month, Gates sent a memo to Army Secretary Pete Geren asking for quarterly progress reports on "reducing and ultimately eliminating the use of stop-loss as soon as feasible."

Rochelle added that when the expected withdrawal of troops from Iraq begins, the Army's reliance on the program will eventually decline.

In other remarks, Rochelle also suggested that the Army will only be able to increase its numbers by about 4,000 in the next year -- a fraction of the 35,000 boost that Pentagon and Army leaders have set as a goal by 2010.

He said the Army will rely largely on two relatively new recruitment programs that would reward current active duty soldiers and National Guard soldiers who successfully bring in new people.

Other than those new efforts, the basic recruitment and retention goals for 2008 will stay the same as 2007, at 80,000 and 65,000 respectively, he said.

That, he said, reflects the "realistic view on how challenging it is at this point in time" to increase the size of the Army.

The Guard program, which only just began, has already garnered 25 recruits and there are 100 in the pipeline, Rochelle said, adding that the effort could bring in as many as 3,000 in 2008.

He said the Army is likely to continue increasing the financial, educational and other incentives to keep soldiers in the service. He declined to detail the costs of the incentives, or how much that might increase next year.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units -- including troops from North Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois and Hawaii -- that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer. Some of those being alerted this week have done tours in the war zone already, and others would be going for the first time.

Maj. Gen. Glenn Rieth, New Jersey's adjutant general for the National Guard, said Thursday that the state's 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Iraq next year, meaning half the state's soldiers would see their deployments switched from 2010 to 2008.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine called this "overuse" of the National Guard overseas a mistake.

"I think it is undermining of the basic purpose of the National Guard, which is to protect local and state elements and floods and fires and whatever problems that we can have," Corzine said, "and reduces our ability and it strains us on equipment."

Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldour contributed to this report.

[bxazy8]

***** Stop The War & Corporate Corruption *****

Why Don''''t You Know Ron Paul??????

The corporate media will not give Ron Paul any Exposure. Because, NBC is owned by GE. GE is one of the world''''s largest war-makers. They make things that go boom. They make $Billions on war. A Ron Paul administration would be bad for business. CNN is owned by AOL. Majority share holder is Saudi Royal Talal who is also partners with GHWBush in The Carlyle Group. Another major warmaker. And on and on. You get the picture. This is why they are doing a Media Blackout on him. Because they don''''t WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!!

Who is Ron Paul?
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about

Ron Paul Has WON 10 Straw-Polls!

Who Owns The Media: http://www.mediaowners.com

RESTORE YOUR LIBERTY & FREEDOM
SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT RON PAUL 2008!

Ron Paul Will:

** Stop Iraq War Immediately
** Eliminate IRS
** Eliminate Federal Reserve
** Eliminate Government Wasteful Spending
** Restore America''''s Work Force & Values
** Restore America''''s Freedom!

GET UP AND GET ACTIVE TODAY!!!
Ron Paul Is America''''s Last Hope!

Join The ReVoLuTiOn In Your City Stand Up America:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/cities/

We have Domestic Terrorists It Is Called The Bush Administration And All Of His "Secretive Signed Statements" Either Stand Up Now or Go To Sams Club And Keep Buying Cases of Vasiline So When You Put Hillary In Office! WAKE UP AMERICA!