Stop loss measures

On my drive to work this morning I was listening the news and the issues of stop loss measures in regards to the US Army came up and got me thinking. They posed a “Question of the day” asking;

In times of war, is the Army right in ordering soldiers to serve beyond their enlistment dates?

I think this issue has come up recently because of a handful of marines that are suing the Army for ordering them to continue their tours of duty or not allowing them to retire and regain a civilian life.

The US Army is a volunteer based army unlike other countries and many people are proud to serve their country in times of need. However, as part of their enlistment they need to be fully notified that in times of dire need, war surely qualifies as that, they can be asked to delay their retirements and continue serving in the army.

Currently, the army makes mention of this particular clause in their enlistment papers, but in a very obscure way. I don’t think the newly enlisting personal know enough to ask about all the possible scenarios in which they might not be allowed to leave the army life and return a civilian one. The fine print, can indeed, sometimes kill you.

So, it should be incumbent on the army to ensure the all the details are fully disclosed. There might be newly enlisting people who will then not want to enlist, but I’m sure there will be enough people who will continue the enlisting process to help their country.

Cheers

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