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Hard Charger
 
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Issue Date: June 02, 2003
3,500-soldier unit in Afghanistan wrongly placed under restrictions
By Sean D. Naylor
Times staff writer
The Army wrongfully placed a 3,500-soldier force in Afghan-istan under stop-loss restrictions, Army Times has learned.
The unprecedented mistake means some soldiers who might be sitting in college classrooms or behind desks in civilian jobs are instead stuck in a combat zone.
Troops in the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, which deployed to Afghanistan in January and February, were put under stop-loss orders that prevented voluntary retirements or separations from active duty until further notice.
The division requested the authority to involuntarily retain the soldiers on active duty when the brigade was preparing to deploy. The Army’s politically appointed civilian leadership must approve any stop-loss order, and in the case of the 82nd’s 1st BCT the request was denied.
But for reasons that remain unclear, this fact apparently never was understood by anyone in the chain of command between the brigade itself and Forces Command, the four-star headquarters in charge of conventional forces in the continental United States. As a result, the division placed stop-loss restrictions on the brigade without authority to do so.
The Army is working to correct the mistake, said Lt. Col. Stan Heath, spokesman for the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Lt. Gen. John Le Moyne.
In all likelihood, the service soon will announce the end to the stop-loss policy implemented February 14 that covers active-duty units participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was this policy in which the 1st BCT mistakenly was included.
“This was going to be fixed either way,” Heath said.
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Stare Master
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First, I think the designation of a brigade combat team is the wrong terminology by the Army Times. I believe it is either a regimental combat team or a brigade.
Second, I thought the stop loss was MOS driven, not unit driven.
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American GI. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
"History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over." COLONEL BULL SIMONS
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Seasoned Vet
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quote:
The Army’s politically appointed civilian leadership must approve any stop-loss order, and in the case of the 82nd’s 1st BCT the request was denied.
I don't understand this. Why was it denied? Dammit, we are STILL at war!! WTF is going on at HQDA? Why would they deny a stop loss request for a unit in a combat zone during the War on Terror. Little Johnny can go to college AFTER the mission is complete.
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Hard Charger
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I thought the same as you about stop loss being Army wide. As to brigade combat team that is common terminology. The new Stryker brigade is called a BCT.
http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jan2000/a20000105bct.html
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