Dec 10, 7:01 PM EST


Army working on details of 'stop loss' bonus

By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan currently fighting beyond their enlistment contract could soon be getting a monthly bonus, but exactly how much and when hasn't been determined.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said Wednesday that Army officials are working out details about how to distribute the payments Congress mandated to about 12,000 troops currently experiencing "stop loss" extensions of their service. He's pushing for the payments to be $500 a month.

Critics have called the military's ability to "stop loss" troops - or keep them beyond their enlistment contract or retirement date - a back door draft. Military leaders have said in a time of war it is a necessary tool to keep troops with critical skills and to maintain the continuity of a unit.

Lt. Col. George Wright, an Army spokesman, said the troops will receive the payments in the "near future." He said the Army is looking at the process by which to make the payments - and exactly how much they will be paid.

The law passed earlier this year said troops from all military branches kept in the military under stop loss in the budget year that started Oct. 1 would receive a bonus not to exceed $500 a month. It allocated $72 million for the bonuses.

Some members of Congress are also seeking a retroactive bonus for the troops who have been required to stay in the military beyond the time they enlisted since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Murtha said there are about 185,000 total.

"We didn't put enough money in for the full 185,000, but we intend to do that," Murtha, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, said during a speech at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, initially proposed giving $1,500 a month to troops who qualified.


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End of Associated Press Release