Stop Loss from usmilitary.com

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/deploymentsconflicts/a/stoploss.htm
STOP LOSS
STOP LOSS, on the other hand, means extending a military person in the Guard or Reserves, or on active duty, beyond what their normal separation date would be. Those who join the military agree to this provision under paragraph 9c of the enlistment contract states:
In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States.
That, is the basis of STOP LOSS. The Department of Defense maintains that the term "war" means anytime America's Armed Forces are engaged in hostile conflict, and not just "war declared by Congress." Would that stand up in court? We don't know yet, as STOP LOSS has never been challenged in court. However, there are eight Guard and Reserve troops who have banded together to file a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Defense for calling them to active duty, and then keeping them on active duty past their separation date, under the authority of STOP LOSS, so perhaps we'll soon find out.
I should mention here that STOP LOSS is not new. Political opponants of the President often refer to STOP LOSS as a "back-door draft," and act as if President Bush invented the policy.
Congress first gave STOP LOSS authority to the Department of Defense right after the draft ended. However, the military didn't use the authority until the 1990/1991 Gulf War, when Bush Senior imposed STOP LOSS on pretty much everyone in the military during the Gulf War. This STOP LOSS was later revised to include only those deployed, and individuals in certain critical job skills.
President Clinton imposed STOP LOSS at the beginning of the Bosnia deployment, and during the Kosovo Air Campaign. STOP LOSS was imposed for a brief period right after 9/11, and then again in 2002 and 2003.
The current STOP LOSS program only affects members of the active duty Army, the Army Reserves, and the Army National Guard, and only affects individuals who are either deployed or have been officially notified that they are scheduled for deployment. Such members are prevented from separating or retiring from the point of deployment notification, to (up to) 90 days following return from deployment.