::::::::
I have had it from a - and you have to take my word for this - very credible source that the U.S Army(possibly also the marine crops as well) will, by the end of this month,have its "stop loss" (mechanisms of keeping those already in from getting out by extending their active duty as such, separate deployments during this duty, the number of deployments and/or decreasing the length of time between deployments) extended to also-at the least-stop people from getting retirement they are eligible for until this measure is canceled.
This will doubtless deprive already heavily pressured soldiers of yet another source of well-needed strength as they will see another source of approaching relief being pulled away as the demands from above on expanded military capacity is not measured by the recruiting and the retention of soldiers.
As is written in an article by Lawrence J. Korb , a senior fellow at the Center for American Progres who served as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration: ".., it is no longer an all-volunteer force. About 50,000 "volunteers" have had their agreed-upon enlistment involuntarily extended for up to two years through "stop loss," which prevents their leaving the service until three months after their units return from Iraq or Afghanistan. Another 11,000 have been brought back on active duty involuntarily years after completing their agreed-upon enlistment because they had time remaining on their military obligation.."
I would also caution people against being tricked by the numbers floating around naming the number of troops deployed overseas being much lower than at other times in history - for example, during the Vietnam war. These number doesn't take into account that the lower number of actual military personnel is most likely well than balanced out by the number of "mercenaries" from private security firms as well as the number of other private contractor's staff that fills in for duties earlier carried out by military personnel.
The actual number of contractors carrying out such previously military-only tasks is hard to assess since such information is not as easily accessible as that about personnel directly working beneath the government. But a recent article by Corps Watch quotes credible researchers as putting the number at between 50,000 and 100,000 in Iraq alone.
