For 145,000 stop-loss veterans, the chance to get paid for extra service has been extended.
“Stop-loss” refers to an extension in service members’ active duty that retains them past the end of their original contracts.
President Barack Obama signed a resolution Thursday extending the deadline to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay from Oct. 21 to Dec. 3.
The program was enacted to compensate military members whose service was extended during Stop Loss between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Less than 60,000 of the 145,000 eligible service members have submitted a claim for pay so far.
“The reason they extended the deadline is… a majority of (the 145,000 members) still had not applied for the benefits, and that’s why they extended it,” said Michael Forrest, program director for Veterans Affairs at Ohio State.
Eligible members can receive up to $500 per month in stop loss. The average total payout so far is approximately $3,800, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
Rob Gooden, office manager with the Air Force ROTC at OSU, said he didn’t know if many people were aware of the deadline but is still trying to spread the word.
“We are just trying to get the word out that the folks who were caught up in this can apply for this $500 special pay,” he said.
Though few people at OSU are affected, other veterans and ROTC members said they would want to know about compensation.
“The Air Force rarely had to deal with stop-loss, so we never heard much about it, though people I knew in the Army and Marines said it was a constant concern,” said Kyle Knox, 24, a fourth-year in journalism, who spent four years on active duty at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Out of the about 60,000 claims received so far, more than 49,000 have come from the Army.
Derek Whipkey, a fourth-year in biology serving in the Army ROTC, said although he is not effected by stop-loss and can’t speak for those who are, he believes it is likely that many veterans know about the upcoming deadline.
“Most veterans have a little more vested interest in that sort of thing, and I’m sure they know people that are actually effected by the policy,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Army ROTC at OSU was not immediately available for comment.
Still, less than half of the total eligible service members have applied for pay.
“It’s important that all those eligible for this benefit take the opportunity to apply for what they’ve earned,” said Lernes Hebert, acting director of Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management at the Department of Defense in a press release.
In a Sept. 15 video message, Obama urged eligible service members skeptical about the pay to apply.
“Some veterans think this is some sort of gimmick or scam, or that it’s a way for the government to call you back to service,” Obama said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
To apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay, visitdefense.gov/stoploss.
