Stop-Loss To Be Stopped

One of the more vile policies of the Bushies will finally end:

The military will phase out its "stop-loss" program, the contentious practice of holding troops beyond the end of their enlistments, for all but extraordinary situations, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday.

...Gates said the change is one he has wanted to implement since he became secretary of defense.

"While these changes do carry some risk, I believe it is important that we do everything possible to see that soldiers are not unnecessarily forced to stay in the Army beyond their end-of-term-of-service date," Gates said.

...The Army used the stop-loss policy during Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and reinstated it after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Gates cited two factors as contributing to the end of the program.

First, he said, "We will be drawing down in Iraq, over the next 18 or 19 months, significantly more than we are building up in Afghanistan, in terms of the Army."

In addition, the Army has more troops to call on. Retention and enlistment are up, Gates said, and the service has reached its goal of 547,000 personnel sooner than expected.