Crap- The 3rd ID is ordered to await transfer to Iraq- AGAIN

[n2doc]

Army division orders departing soldiers to stay put
Sean Harder | Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 12:30 am

Soldiers who planned to retire, move or leave the 3rd Infantry Division this year may now go to Iraq

Third Infantry Division soldiers who planned to move, retire or leave the Army this year may now be heading to Iraq instead.

Relying on the Army's unpopular "stop-loss" and "stop-move" authority, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch ordered departing soldiers to stay put to help preserve the division's troop strength prior to its upcoming deployment to Iraq.

Stop-loss authority allows the armed forces to extend people on active-duty by delaying planned separations, retirements and demobilizations.

In a letter to be published Friday in Frontline, Fort Stewart's newspaper, Lynch said the move is "absolutely necessary," but said exceptions could be made for some soldiers.

The move is a sign that the Pentagon is scrambling to identify enough soldiers to support the mission in Iraq and meet President Bush's order for a troop surge. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is reportedly cracking down on the use of stop-loss.

On Saturday, the Army Times reported that Gates told senior defense officials and each of the service secretaries that it's time to look for other ways to manage manpower.

"Use of stop-loss will be minimized for both active and Reserve component forces," Gates wrote in a Jan. 19 memo that also outlined a number of other personnel initiatives.

He directed military leaders to get back with him by Feb. 28 with plans to reduce the use of stop-loss.

Critics, such as ex-POW and Republican Sen. John McCain, call stop-loss a back-door draft that hurts troop morale.

Any change in stop-loss policy would largely affect the Army, which has used the program since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

As of last fall, more than 10,000 regular Army, National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers were being retained beyond their planned separation or retirement dates, according to the Army Times.

Gates also announced new compensation for service members who are deployed earlier than planned or serve extended tours in Iraq.

The 3rd Infantry Division is the first in the Army to be tasked with a third yearlong tour in Iraq.

To meet the order for a troop increase, commanders are accelerating deployments of two brigades. Lynch and the division's headquarters may also go into Iraq earlier than planned.

Lynch did not immediately return phone calls.

For more information, read tomorrow's Savannah Morning News.

http://savannahnow.com/node/221011