Press Release 10/2/2007

The Department of Defense policy of Stop-Loss (which is also known as Involuntary Extension) has been expanding, despite a memo penned earlier this year by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to "minimize the effect of Stop-Loss." An official estimate of the current number of Stop-Lossed and Involuntarily Extended personnel has not been released by the Pentagon, but unofficial estimates put the number at approximately 80,000-- or roughly half the number of US troops in Iraq at any given time.

Evan Knappenberger, an Iraq veteran and founder of the Stop the Stop-Loss campaign, says that his investigation found that "in most units going back to Iraq for OIF 08-09, the average number of troops that have had their ETS [end time of service dates] extended was roughly 50%." Knappenberger went on to explain that "by this time next year, you will have a major problem dealing with soldiers whose dates were simply changed without orders or even a warning." This development comes after the news that congress is considering legislation that would regulate time that the troops had in between deployments as a means to a more effective fighting force worn down by multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also comes after the announcement that minimum tours in Iraq have been extended from 12 to 15 months.

According to Army Public Affairs, the latest numbers on the Stop-Loss are from April of 2007, and put the total at just over 8,000 soldiers affected. However, this does not include the number of so-called "Involuntarily Extended" troops, nor does it reflect the number of soldiers whose ETS dates simply changed. It also fails to reflect accurate numbers from post-'surge' Iraq, and the coming troop rotation coined "OIF 08-09". According to Knappenberger, "the numbers shown by the DoD are not matching up to the situation on the ground. There is a major problem being swept under the rug here." Unfortunately for the troops, it looks increasingly likely that, by the time their service is up, they will be told to remain for longer periods of time in a service that is desperate for manpower.



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Evan Michael Knappenberger