Citizen Soldiers... National Guard in Iraq Overview

The National Guard has been much in the news lately, and not just because of the President's Vietnam Era service. On September 14, President Bush addressed the National Guard Conference in Las Vegas. During that address the President suggested that candidate Kerry was undercutting the Guard by arguing that the U.S. was spending too much money in Iraq. Senator Kerry addressed the same group two days later. Kerry has been arguing that it is President Bush who is ignoring the needs of Guard members by threatening to veto an amendment to the $87 billion emergency supplemental appropriations for security and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. The amendment would provide an additional $1.3 billion for improved medical benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserves and veterans or what is known as TRICARE funding. Election-year politics aside, what is certain is that the citizen soldiers of the National Guard are facing unprecedented challenges.
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The Stop Loss Policy
National Guard and Army Reserve members are also affected by the ongoing Stop Loss Policy, which allows the Pentagon to keep soldiers whose enlistment is due to expire in order to maintain troop strength and unit integrity. The restrictions bar voluntary separations and retirements for soldiers in designated units beginning 90 days before deployment until 90 days after their units return to their home stations. Specifically, "the President may suspend any provision of law relating to promotion, retirement, or separation applicable to any member of the armed forces who the President determines is essential to the national security of the United States." A Stop Loss order for National Guard and Reserve units activated for the war against terrorism has been in effect since November 2002. Army officials announced June 1 the latest Active Army Stop Loss/Stop Movement Program for active Army units preparing for deployment overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom remains in effect.

Read the whole article at http://www.pbs.org/now/society/natguard.html