Wrench3516
07-28-10, 10:56 PM
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Oct. 21 is last day to apply for stop-loss pay
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 28, 2010 22:13:48 EDT
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Time is running out for current and former troops involuntarily held on active duty beyond their service commitments to apply for retroactive $500 monthly payments.
The wartime special pay program applies to all service members who served from Sept. 11, 2001, to Sept. 30, 2009, and were kept on duty beyond their original separation, resignation or retirement date under the military’s stop-loss policy.
Those eligible will be paid $500 for every month or portion of a month they involuntarily served during that time period.
Only a fraction of the roughly 145,000 eligible individuals have been paid. About $128 million has been doled out to 29,764 troops and veterans affected by the policy, and about $406 million remains in the account, officials say.
Applications must be made by Oct. 21. After that, the money will dry up.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon launched a “full-court press” to get the word out, and to pay all of those who are eligible over the next three months, said Lernes Hebert, the Defense Department’s acting director of officer and enlisted personnel management.
“Every member … who is eligible and wants to apply for this should have that opportunity to do so,” said Hebert. “But they can only do that if they know about it.”
Of the total individuals eligible, 120,000 served in the Army, 16,000 in the Air Force, 8,900 in the Marine Corps and 250 in the Navy, Hebert said.
Some individuals may be confused about eligibility because they served in a unit that was kept in theater longer than planned, said Maj. Roy Whitley, the Army’s project manager for the special pay.
“Being in a unit that was stop-lossed does not equal individual stop-loss,” he said.
However, those unsure about eligibility should not spend time trying to figure it out, Hebert said. “If there’s any question in their mind about whether or not they’re eligible, go ahead and apply,” he said.
The online application (http://www.defense.gov/stoploss) takes about 30 minutes to fill out, Hebert said. And with average payouts totaling between $3,000 and $4,000, he said, “that’s a pretty good return on investment.”
Hebert acknowledged the difficulty of reaching those eligible, with many former service members no longer living at the home of record listed in their personnel files, for instance.
The Army, which has most of the eligible troops, recently identified 86,000 individuals to contact, Whitley said. About 50,000 mailers have gone out to former troops and another 36,000 are about to be sent, he said.
Whitley said the Army has heard back from 40 percent of the 50,000 individuals already contacted.
To get the word out to guardsmen and reservists, the Pentagon is contacting states whose response levels seem low, given their National Guard and reserve populations, Hebert said.
If an eligible service member has died, his or her spouse can apply as well, even if the service member’s death took place after leaving the service, Hebert said.
Oct. 21 is last day to apply for stop-loss pay
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 28, 2010 22:13:48 EDT
<FORM id=hidden><INPUT id=headline value="Oct. 21 is last day to apply for stop-loss pay" type=hidden> <INPUT id=body value="You have been sent an online news article as a courtesy of <a href=" target="_blank" www.marinecorpstimes.com? http:>www.marinecorpstimes.com. To view the contents go to:" type=hidden> <INPUT id=url value=http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/07/military_stop_loss_special_pay_deadline_072810w/ type=hidden> </FORM>
Time is running out for current and former troops involuntarily held on active duty beyond their service commitments to apply for retroactive $500 monthly payments.
The wartime special pay program applies to all service members who served from Sept. 11, 2001, to Sept. 30, 2009, and were kept on duty beyond their original separation, resignation or retirement date under the military’s stop-loss policy.
Those eligible will be paid $500 for every month or portion of a month they involuntarily served during that time period.
Only a fraction of the roughly 145,000 eligible individuals have been paid. About $128 million has been doled out to 29,764 troops and veterans affected by the policy, and about $406 million remains in the account, officials say.
Applications must be made by Oct. 21. After that, the money will dry up.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon launched a “full-court press” to get the word out, and to pay all of those who are eligible over the next three months, said Lernes Hebert, the Defense Department’s acting director of officer and enlisted personnel management.
“Every member … who is eligible and wants to apply for this should have that opportunity to do so,” said Hebert. “But they can only do that if they know about it.”
Of the total individuals eligible, 120,000 served in the Army, 16,000 in the Air Force, 8,900 in the Marine Corps and 250 in the Navy, Hebert said.
Some individuals may be confused about eligibility because they served in a unit that was kept in theater longer than planned, said Maj. Roy Whitley, the Army’s project manager for the special pay.
“Being in a unit that was stop-lossed does not equal individual stop-loss,” he said.
However, those unsure about eligibility should not spend time trying to figure it out, Hebert said. “If there’s any question in their mind about whether or not they’re eligible, go ahead and apply,” he said.
The online application (http://www.defense.gov/stoploss) takes about 30 minutes to fill out, Hebert said. And with average payouts totaling between $3,000 and $4,000, he said, “that’s a pretty good return on investment.”
Hebert acknowledged the difficulty of reaching those eligible, with many former service members no longer living at the home of record listed in their personnel files, for instance.
The Army, which has most of the eligible troops, recently identified 86,000 individuals to contact, Whitley said. About 50,000 mailers have gone out to former troops and another 36,000 are about to be sent, he said.
Whitley said the Army has heard back from 40 percent of the 50,000 individuals already contacted.
To get the word out to guardsmen and reservists, the Pentagon is contacting states whose response levels seem low, given their National Guard and reserve populations, Hebert said.
If an eligible service member has died, his or her spouse can apply as well, even if the service member’s death took place after leaving the service, Hebert said.