Some members of Missouri’s National Guard who are on active duty or who know they’ll be called to active duty soon have just been given a choice to make.
The military has been operating under "Stop Loss" Orders" during most of the war on terror. It keeps reservists and National Guard members whose enlistments run out while on active duty from leaving the service until the unit is no longer activated.
The Defense Department is ending that practice this summer. The end of the Stop Loss Order will affect Missouri’s National Guard in September.
Guard spokesman Tammy Spicer says the early announcement gives soldiers and the Guard alike time to plan whether to leave, and how to fill vacancies in activating units if someone does leave.
Spicer says it’s much too early to anticipate how many Missouri Guard members will opt out before their deployments or during their deployments.
The Defense Department also says Reservists and Guard Members whose enlistments are up but are still serving until the end of the Stop Loss Orders will be paid 500 dollars a month to mitigate the effects of their extended activation.
The end of the Stop Loss Order will apply to the regular Army later.
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