By If you are a US soldier who was hit with a “stop loss” after 9/11, you might want to read this:
Uncle Sam wants to give free, no-strings-attached money to about 145,000 troops who were involuntarily kept on duty after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but is having trouble persuading them that it’s not a gimmick.
Last October, Congress approved retroactive bonus pay for military personnel who were forced to remain on duty beyond their original discharge date, a controversial policy known as “stop-loss.” Lawmakers approved back pay of $500 for each month of involuntary service; the average lump-sum due is between $3,500 and $3,800.
To get the cash, an application must be submitted by Oct. 21; only about a third of those eligible have handed in paperwork. With just six weeks remaining before the deadline, the Department of Defense is scrambling to track down about 90,000 veterans, as well as some active-duty troops, to ask them to apply for their back pay. [Washington Post]
Read the rest at the link.
10:15 am on September 5th, 2010 1
Oh yeah! Thanks for posting this, I had no idea. I just submitted my application along with the supporting paperwork (thank goodness I never throw stuff like that away) so if they approve it, I should get paid for the 3 months I was on stop loss.
11:05 am on September 6th, 2010 2
I think the DoD was deliberately keeping this on the down low in the hopes very few would take them up on the offer. There was nearly no publicity or announcement for this.