Washington Post 12/28/03
If you haven't been in the service, you can only try to imagine what a retention order feels like. This is a pretty extreme measure. But, note in the second paragraph that we've exceeded the army manpower limitations. Didn't our boy Saddam get in trouble for exceeding missle range limitations by a small margin? Some quotes from the article follow.
"Through a series of stop-loss orders, the Army alone has blocked the possible retirements and departures of more than 40,000 soldiers, about 16,000 of them National Guard and reserve members who were eligible to leave the service this year.
By prohibiting soldiers and officers from leaving the service at retirement or the expiration of their contracts, military leaders have breached the Army's manpower limit of 480,000 troops, a ceiling set by Congress. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee last month, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, disclosed that the number of active-duty soldiers has crept over the congressionally authorized maximum by 20,000 and now registered 500,000 as a result of stop-loss orders. Several lawmakers questioned the legality of exceeding the limit by so much."
If you haven't been in the service, you can only try to imagine what a retention order feels like. This is a pretty extreme measure. But, note in the second paragraph that we've exceeded the army manpower limitations. Didn't our boy Saddam get in trouble for exceeding missle range limitations by a small margin? Some quotes from the article follow.
"Through a series of stop-loss orders, the Army alone has blocked the possible retirements and departures of more than 40,000 soldiers, about 16,000 of them National Guard and reserve members who were eligible to leave the service this year.
By prohibiting soldiers and officers from leaving the service at retirement or the expiration of their contracts, military leaders have breached the Army's manpower limit of 480,000 troops, a ceiling set by Congress. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee last month, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, disclosed that the number of active-duty soldiers has crept over the congressionally authorized maximum by 20,000 and now registered 500,000 as a result of stop-loss orders. Several lawmakers questioned the legality of exceeding the limit by so much."