Stop Loss Compensation for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans

Stop Loss Compensation for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans
Bush/ Cheney and the Senate and Congress told veterans that were retiring or getting out of the military that they could not leave, even if the time they were committed to by contract was over.
So they were promised "stop loss pay" to compensate for having to stay. Many never got this pay. If you are one those who did not get this pay, Please contact http://www.vetcenter.va.gov/Retroactive_Stop_Loss_Pay_RSLSP.asp
The current administration is trying to get your pay to you. But hurry the deadline is Dec. 3, 2010 All you have to do is just get started by getting your name in their before Dec. 3, 2010. And they will help you the rest of the way.
Dave

President Obama Encourages Troops and Veterans to
Claim ‘Stop Loss’ Pay
http://www.bronx.va.gov/docs/pr091510.pdf


Stop Loss Application Deadlines Extended


The deadline to apply for stop loss compensation has been extended to December 3, 2010. Called by some a “back door draft,” stop loss was used primarily during the Iraq war to keep troops in country past their date of separation to continue fighting. It was used primarily on Marines and Army soldiers but the compensation is available to any soldier who served between September 2001 and September 2009.

For each month or partial month soldiers were held past their separation or retirement date they will receive $500. The retroactive payment will allow soldiers to claim $3,700, on average. Of the money set aside to make the payments to the soldiers, however, over half has yet to be claimed. A rough estimate puts about 120,000 soldiers eligible for the payments.

Both the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the White House have launched media campaigns to alert soldiers to the availability of this payment. Soldiers earned this money by being kept in a war zone past the last day of their contract with their respective branch of military service. There are no strings attached to taking the money and no reason soldiers kept in country because of stop loss should not apply for this money.



Veterans kept in service now due pay Stop-loss policy extended military stints to keep wars' ranks filled
By AMY SCHLESING ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Publication: LexisNexis
Date: Friday, October 30 2009
http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-government/13350835-1.html
Stop loss, the mandatory delay of retirement or departure from the armed forces, has been used extensively over the past eight years as a way to stabilize the fighting force by requiring troops to stay in uniform for the duration of a deployment.Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who were ordered to delay retirement or departure from the armed forces and deploy under the Pentagon's "stop-loss policy" are now eligible for compensation for each month their service was extended.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who were deployed under the stop-loss policy are now eligible to receive $500 for each month their service was extended beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates. The payments were authorized under the 2009 Supplemental Appropriation Act, which allows for compensation for all veterans, current servicemen and families of troops who died while deployed under the stop-loss policy from Sept. 11, 2001, through Sept. 30, 2009.

The legislation includes more than $534 million for the retroactive stop-loss payments. The Department of Defense estimates about 185,000 servicemen have deployed under the stop-loss policy since Sept. 11, 2001.

All compensation claims and required documentation must be submitted by the affected veterans through the mail or online by Oct. 21, 2010.

The Department of the Army has used the stop-loss policy more than any other military branch and estimates that 136,000 soldiers are eligible for retroactive pay.

According to documents from the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, about 39,000 current and former airmen are eligible. The Navy used stop loss the least, listing about 250 sailors eligible for payments. The Marines have not released a troop estimate but reported that it will likely be minimal.

According to a Marine Corps guidance memo issued Oct. 23, "The Marine Corps has not used stop loss since 2003. The Marine Corps judiciously used stop loss between Jan. 7, 2002 and Sept. 30, 2003." Current and former National Guard and Reserve troops are included in the above tallies.

It is not known how many Arkansas troops are eligible. The Arkansas National Guard is scouring its ranks and former rosters to identify all guardsmen, former guardsmen and families of deceased guardsmen who were retained under the stop-loss policy over the past eight years, according to Lt. Col. Keith Moore. Arkansas is home to Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force Reserves as well as Air and Army National Guard units. Little Rock Air Force Base has more than 5,000 airmen, some of whom deployed under the stop-loss policy over the past decade.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said for years that he intends to minimize the use of stop loss, but it remains in use today. Compensation for troops while deployed began last year. They receive the $500 stipend each month as it is accrued.

According to the Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service, about 30,000 soldiers received stop-loss compensation while deployed from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009. Of those, 8,373 were National Guardsmen, according to Lt. Col. Timothy Rooney, National Guard Bureau manpower analysis branch chief.

The stop-loss compensation paid to troops while they are in a war zone is tax-free, under federal law. The pay for troops held under stop loss in years past will also be taxfree for those months they were in the war zones. Any stop-loss payment accrued in the 90 days before or after deployment - the outer limits of stop loss - however, is taxable.

"The average number of months that a soldier received [stop-loss compensation] was 4.5 months in fiscal year 2009," Rooney wrote in an e-mail Thursday.Compensation stops if a service member re-enlists.

"The soldier is encouraged to reenlist in theater for the bonus, tax free, and remains eligible to receive [stop-loss compensation] up until his or her extension/reenlistment is processed," Rooney said in the e-mail.

Every military branch has a Web site with instructions and the necessary forms to apply for retroactive stop-loss payments. The basic application form is DD Form 2944.

The application process is the same for National Guardsmen and Reservists as it is for current and former active-duty troops. All applications and required supporting documents are funneled through the military branches where eligibility is verified before payment is administered through the Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

"Getting the word out is our No. 1 challenge," Sam Retherford, director of the Defense Department's personnel management office told American Forces Press Service last week. "Many are former members. Many have no obligation to the military anymore and are scattered across the world right now. Getting the word out for people to solicit the claim is our first challenge." How to claim retroactive pay Service members must submit claims for retroactive stoploss special pay by Oct. 21, 2010. Forms and information for each branch are available at the following sites: ARMY: www.stoplosspay.army.mil NAVY: E-mail NXAG_N132C@navy.mil MARINE CORPS: www.manpower.usmc.mil/stoploss AIR FORCE: www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/stoploss / This article was published 10/30/2009