Army to Stop Extending Tours Beyond Service Obligations
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 18, 2009; 3:42 PM
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today that the Army will virtually eliminate the unpopular practice of "stop loss" -- or mandating that soldiers stay in the Army beyond their service obligation -- by March 2011 and will offer extra pay to soldiers whose service is extended under the policy.
About 13,000 soldiers are serving in the Army under the stop-loss policy, nearly double the number of two years ago. Gates said the goal is to reduce that number by 50 percent by June 2010 and to bring it down to scores or less by March 2011.
"I felt particularly in these numbers that it was breaking faith" to keep soldiers in the service after their end date comes up, Gates said. "To hold them against their will is just not the right thing to do," he said at a Pentagon press conference.
To achieve that, the Army Reserve will no longer mobilize units under stop-loss policy beginning in August, the Army National Guard in September, and the active duty Army by January 2010.
Gate said that the Army retains the authority to use stop loss under "extraordinary" circumstances. But he said that should only happen in an "emergency situation where we absolutely had to have somebody's skills for a specific limited period of time." Such decisions would be made by the secretary of the Army, he said.
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Effective this month, the Army will also pay soldiers who are under stop loss an extra $500 per month, and those payments will be retroactive until October 2008, when they were authorized by Congress, Gates said.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Military support network
On Saturday, Gayle and I met up with the organizer of our military support network and her husband for drinks and hor dourves. Their son is recently back from Iraq. We were stunned to hear that his unit had suffered a 10 percent causality rate in the 15 months since our son was back from the surge. From everything I read, Iraq is supposed to be relatively peaceful, albeit fragile. Ten percent equates to 65 men killed or wounded. How is it that we don't know this?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Saturday news and notes
Ft. Bragg happenings
A slide show of the First Lady's visit to Fayetteville Thursday can be found here. It's at the bottom of the story.
Mark's battalion is in from a long field exercise, so it's a working weekend for him and a lot of other soldiers. I don't think we will see him again until Memorial Day. I am hopeful that he will have a handle on his injury issues soon.
I posted the article below about the Warrior Transition Union at Bragg for a reason. The Army still has a very hard time telling the difference between a s**tbag and a soldier with legitimate health issues. In the Army's defense it would be difficult to tell if someone was shamming or really needed help. But nonetheless, with the spike in suicides and issues concerning PTSD, it's a problem the Army needs to solve.
Backyard mayhem
There was no sleeping in this morning although it was a perfect morning to do it: the beaches are socked in with a heavy fog for the second day in a row (see La Florida). At any rate, the blue jays were making this horrible racket as were the squirrels and an occasional mockingbird. Turns out there was a very large red-shouldered hawk in the sycamore tree next to the bedroom window and the blue jays were running dive-bombing sorties on him. He finally left but the blue jays are now doing victory laps around the backyard.
Front yard mayhem
Jon's surfing clothing sale (RVCA). No sign of recession there.
A slide show of the First Lady's visit to Fayetteville Thursday can be found here. It's at the bottom of the story.
Mark's battalion is in from a long field exercise, so it's a working weekend for him and a lot of other soldiers. I don't think we will see him again until Memorial Day. I am hopeful that he will have a handle on his injury issues soon.
I posted the article below about the Warrior Transition Union at Bragg for a reason. The Army still has a very hard time telling the difference between a s**tbag and a soldier with legitimate health issues. In the Army's defense it would be difficult to tell if someone was shamming or really needed help. But nonetheless, with the spike in suicides and issues concerning PTSD, it's a problem the Army needs to solve.
Backyard mayhem
There was no sleeping in this morning although it was a perfect morning to do it: the beaches are socked in with a heavy fog for the second day in a row (see La Florida). At any rate, the blue jays were making this horrible racket as were the squirrels and an occasional mockingbird. Turns out there was a very large red-shouldered hawk in the sycamore tree next to the bedroom window and the blue jays were running dive-bombing sorties on him. He finally left but the blue jays are now doing victory laps around the backyard.
Front yard mayhem
Jon's surfing clothing sale (RVCA). No sign of recession there.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Army to review how injured soldiers treated
From the Fayetteville Observer:
By Kevin Maurer
The Associated Press
The general in charge of the Army’s more than 9,000 wounded soldiers said Wednesday he is ordering a review of how the ones at Fort Bragg are being punished for minor violations.
Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek said he is asking the Army Surgeon General to look at all discipline that has been taken against soldiers in the base’s Warrior Transition unit to make sure each case was fair.
Cheek’s comments come a day after The Associated Press reported that soldiers in the unit are being disciplined three times as often as those assigned to the base’s main tenant, the 82nd Airborne Division. The AP found that discipline rates vary widely across the Warrior Transition system; some units punish their soldiers even more frequently than the one at Fort Bragg, while others are far more lenient.
“We are transparent enough in this that we want to make sure that we aren’t doing anything bad by our soldiers,” Cheek said.
The rest of the story can be found here.
By Kevin Maurer
The Associated Press
The general in charge of the Army’s more than 9,000 wounded soldiers said Wednesday he is ordering a review of how the ones at Fort Bragg are being punished for minor violations.
Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek said he is asking the Army Surgeon General to look at all discipline that has been taken against soldiers in the base’s Warrior Transition unit to make sure each case was fair.
Cheek’s comments come a day after The Associated Press reported that soldiers in the unit are being disciplined three times as often as those assigned to the base’s main tenant, the 82nd Airborne Division. The AP found that discipline rates vary widely across the Warrior Transition system; some units punish their soldiers even more frequently than the one at Fort Bragg, while others are far more lenient.
“We are transparent enough in this that we want to make sure that we aren’t doing anything bad by our soldiers,” Cheek said.
The rest of the story can be found here.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday news and notes
Brain injuries: Military.com this morning reports that as many as 360,000 service members have suffered some type of traumatic brain injury while deployed. If there is an upside, the vast majority of them have been concussions that required no treatment. The story can be found here.
Rumor has it: that SGT. Mark may put fingers to keyboard here soon. It's been about 10 months, which is a healthy case of writer's block. We shall see.
Full moon, Friday the 13th, the Ides of March: I'm not superstitious or anything but I think I will lay low for the next few days.
What dogs can teach us: This is from an e-mail that Gayle received:
". . . if a dog was the teacher, YOU would learn things like:
* When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
* Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
* Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.
* Take naps.
* Stretch before rising.
* Run, romp, and play daily.
* Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
* Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
* On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
* On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
* When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
* Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
* Be loyal.
* Never pretend to be something you're not.
* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
THESE ARE GOOD TIPS ~~ ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!"
I would add from our border collie: When you have some extra time, find a tennis ball and go play (i.e. exercise).
Rumor has it: that SGT. Mark may put fingers to keyboard here soon. It's been about 10 months, which is a healthy case of writer's block. We shall see.
Full moon, Friday the 13th, the Ides of March: I'm not superstitious or anything but I think I will lay low for the next few days.
What dogs can teach us: This is from an e-mail that Gayle received:
". . . if a dog was the teacher, YOU would learn things like:
* When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
* Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
* Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.
* Take naps.
* Stretch before rising.
* Run, romp, and play daily.
* Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
* Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
* On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
* On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
* When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
* Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
* Be loyal.
* Never pretend to be something you're not.
* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
THESE ARE GOOD TIPS ~~ ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!"
I would add from our border collie: When you have some extra time, find a tennis ball and go play (i.e. exercise).
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday news and notes
Gayle and I went on a field trip of sorts yesterday to celebrate some Spring like weather. We had hoped to end the trip at Big Talbot Island State Park but the traffic was soooo bad in St. Augustine that we didn't make it. But we did make it down to Washington Oaks Garden State Park, which was truly worth the trip. I will be posting pics at La Florida soon.
Bike week: Today is the last day of Bike Week in Daytona Beach. If there is a recession, there are no signs of it in the biker world. St. Augustine was chocked to the brim with Harleys and Hondas yesterday. For those of us who live here, bike week often seems like bike month. Gayle and I were looking for a beach side restaurant for lunch and couldn't find any with parking. We ended up at a Marineland snack shop.
Best signs: Virtually every business had a "Bikers Welcome" sign on display yesterday. But the ones that attracted the most bikers had "Ice Cold Beer - Bikers Welcome" signs.
Back on topic: CNN aired a piece Friday that featured two Army generals talking about their experiences with PTSD. A written version can be found here. As more ranking officers talk about their experiences, maybe the officers and non-coms down the line will understand that everyone, including themselves, are affected by their wartime experiences.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Spring is springing
I'm heading out for a daylong photo shoot: St. Augustine, Washington Oaks State Park and Big Talbot Island. I'm looking for some more photos for La Florida. The weather here is drop dead gorgeous.
SGT Mark is on rear "D" so he has formation both today and tomorrow. Should be a quiet weekend. There are rumors that the First Lady may visit Ft. Bragg in the near future. No confirmations yet.
Mike is in town and I need him to sign a photograph for Lolaberly that he took in Deerfield Beach a while back. She won one of the caption contests at La Florida.
I am hoping to visit him in Port St. Lucie in a few weeks. I can't wait to see the preserves which he helps to manage (although my snake boots have not arrived yet). The slither factor is one of the downsides to working outdoors in Florida. However, in 10 years in working on environmentally sensitive lands, I have seen few snakes...most have been garter or black snakes.
SGT Mark is on rear "D" so he has formation both today and tomorrow. Should be a quiet weekend. There are rumors that the First Lady may visit Ft. Bragg in the near future. No confirmations yet.
Mike is in town and I need him to sign a photograph for Lolaberly that he took in Deerfield Beach a while back. She won one of the caption contests at La Florida.
I am hoping to visit him in Port St. Lucie in a few weeks. I can't wait to see the preserves which he helps to manage (although my snake boots have not arrived yet). The slither factor is one of the downsides to working outdoors in Florida. However, in 10 years in working on environmentally sensitive lands, I have seen few snakes...most have been garter or black snakes.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Photo Friday
New deployment tool
Not that we are anticipating a deployment because we are not. But we recently stumbled across this video camera called a Flip, which would have been great for the last deployment. It weighs 3 ounces, shoots in HD and a has a direct USB connection (no cables). It uploads quickly for easy e-mails and its software makes it very easy to use YouTube and other networking sites. Here's a link to the Flip website.
On Mark's last deployment, we used a DVD camera to send weekly home videos.
Of course, Gayle was giving me a hard time about taking a picture of a camera and said I should posting photos of Spring springing in Florida. So here goes:
Not that we are anticipating a deployment because we are not. But we recently stumbled across this video camera called a Flip, which would have been great for the last deployment. It weighs 3 ounces, shoots in HD and a has a direct USB connection (no cables). It uploads quickly for easy e-mails and its software makes it very easy to use YouTube and other networking sites. Here's a link to the Flip website.
On Mark's last deployment, we used a DVD camera to send weekly home videos.
Of course, Gayle was giving me a hard time about taking a picture of a camera and said I should posting photos of Spring springing in Florida. So here goes:
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Thursday: News and Notes
Pops fly by:Abnpoppa blew through Jacksonville Monday. He pointed out a photo op via email on which I will have to follow up. Not sure of his final destination but I am happy to say the Florida weather is cooperating nicely.
No news is good news, maybe: Mark was on battalion CQ last night so I haven't heard from him. I am hopeful it was a quiet night. 2nd Brigade is pretty busy with training right now.
Today: started off so nicely. Had a good trip to Tallahassee yesterday. Today's meeting was in St. Augustine, which meant a nice trip down A1A past 3.5 miles of undeveloped beach front (a rarity in Florida). The weather is spectacular. The finches and robins are migrating through. All-in-all, it started out as a great day.
Then the phone started ringing: A lawsuit may stall a license plate project on which I'm working; negotiations to protect 300+ acres of marsh in Atlantic Beach are in peril; and on and on and on. Must be an Ides of March thing.
One of these days I am going to hit I-10 west, miss that Tallahassee exit and end at the California coast. :)
No news is good news, maybe: Mark was on battalion CQ last night so I haven't heard from him. I am hopeful it was a quiet night. 2nd Brigade is pretty busy with training right now.
Today: started off so nicely. Had a good trip to Tallahassee yesterday. Today's meeting was in St. Augustine, which meant a nice trip down A1A past 3.5 miles of undeveloped beach front (a rarity in Florida). The weather is spectacular. The finches and robins are migrating through. All-in-all, it started out as a great day.
Then the phone started ringing: A lawsuit may stall a license plate project on which I'm working; negotiations to protect 300+ acres of marsh in Atlantic Beach are in peril; and on and on and on. Must be an Ides of March thing.
One of these days I am going to hit I-10 west, miss that Tallahassee exit and end at the California coast. :)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
82nd heads back to Afghanistan
Staff photo by Marcus Castro
Maj. Gen. Mike Scaparrotti, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, announces that his headquarters company will deploy to Afghanistan later in the spring.
From the Fayetteville Observer
By Henry Cuningham
Military editor
The 82nd Airborne Division headquarters has received orders to deploy to Afghanistan this spring, the Pentagon announced Monday.
“We’ve anticipated the announcement of this deployment, obviously,” said Maj. Gen. Mike Scaparrotti, commander of the division at Fort Bragg. “It was in the planning, and so we’ve been doing some very specific training.”
About 800 soldiers will deploy for about a year, division officials said.
The division headquarters will replace the 101st Airborne Division headquarters in Regional Command East in Bagram as part of a normal rotation of forces, 82nd officials said. The 101st is from Fort Campbell, Ky.
Scaparrotti will oversee a 23,000-person task force that includes U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, foreign troops, Department of Defense civilians, defense contractors, and federal employees from the Department of State and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies. The Pentagon also announced Monday that the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colo., will deploy to Afghanistan.
“We’ve maintained a close relationship with the 101st throughout their rotation,” Scaparrotti said.
The 82nd turned over command of the headquarters to the 101st in April.
“This is a year later, and we are going back to replace them,” Scaparrotti said.
The entire story can be found here:
Monday, March 2, 2009
Stop loss
It's one of many military terms that strikes terror into the hearts of parents and loved ones of soldiers. While there hasn't been a lot of talk around Ft. Bragg about soldiers being stop lossed (new verb), it's a hot topic at Ft. Lewis. I haven't seen much in the media about it but there has been some Joe talk.
Stop loss works like this: You sign up for eight but you really think you are doing four years plus basic and AIT. But in the end, if someone up the chain decides that your departure will threaten a unit's integrity and ability to achieve its mission, they might tack on some additional time.
When units are deployed, stop loss is often unavoidable. But when they are home and families have set their countdown clocks, stop loss keeps everyone up at nights.
I actually thought that with the recruiting numbers up that stop loss out of theater would stop.
Apparently not.
Stop loss works like this: You sign up for eight but you really think you are doing four years plus basic and AIT. But in the end, if someone up the chain decides that your departure will threaten a unit's integrity and ability to achieve its mission, they might tack on some additional time.
When units are deployed, stop loss is often unavoidable. But when they are home and families have set their countdown clocks, stop loss keeps everyone up at nights.
I actually thought that with the recruiting numbers up that stop loss out of theater would stop.
Apparently not.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday news and notes
I was going to post another comment regarding the new military policy about allowing the media access to Dover homecomings - with the family's permission - but I am going to let it go. We will see how the policy works and the media behaves in the future.
It's March 1, so the winds are in like a lion. We have what I hope to be the last of the cold snaps this season just to the west of us. It's 67 now but in the next two hours we should lose about 15 degrees. We will be under a tornado watch through the morning. A freeze is predicted for the inland sections of the city but we should be OK at the beach. Gayle and I are both a little antsy about starting up the spring garden.
Bike Week at Daytona started last week and we have been hearing the rattle and thunder of the Harleys as they roll by. We live about four houses off of A1A (once a quiet road, now a four-lane highway). I was told by a curator at the Alligator Farm yesterday that the bull gators there think the Harleys sound like the bellowing male gators in mating season. Keeps them all a bit riled up...but they looked pretty quiet to me. (see La Florida)
Mark has CQ today through Monday so we won't hear from him. It's 34 with a light rain in Fayetteville. They are predicting one to three inches of snow as temperatures drop. I am hopeful for a quiet day while he is on duty.
Infantry Dad's son, who was due to ETS in April, has been given a stop-loss notice. I thought we were done will all of that in light of the positive news in the recruitment numbers. Apparently not. We will keep the family in our prayers.
It's March 1, so the winds are in like a lion. We have what I hope to be the last of the cold snaps this season just to the west of us. It's 67 now but in the next two hours we should lose about 15 degrees. We will be under a tornado watch through the morning. A freeze is predicted for the inland sections of the city but we should be OK at the beach. Gayle and I are both a little antsy about starting up the spring garden.
Bike Week at Daytona started last week and we have been hearing the rattle and thunder of the Harleys as they roll by. We live about four houses off of A1A (once a quiet road, now a four-lane highway). I was told by a curator at the Alligator Farm yesterday that the bull gators there think the Harleys sound like the bellowing male gators in mating season. Keeps them all a bit riled up...but they looked pretty quiet to me. (see La Florida)
Mark has CQ today through Monday so we won't hear from him. It's 34 with a light rain in Fayetteville. They are predicting one to three inches of snow as temperatures drop. I am hopeful for a quiet day while he is on duty.
Infantry Dad's son, who was due to ETS in April, has been given a stop-loss notice. I thought we were done will all of that in light of the positive news in the recruitment numbers. Apparently not. We will keep the family in our prayers.
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