Posted on 08/17/2004 1:44:56 PM PDT by MikeJ75
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A decorated U.S. combat veteran filed a lawsuit on Tuesday asserting that the government can not prevent reservists from leaving the military when their enlistment periods end.
The suit against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other military officials, names the plaintiff only as John Doe. It says he served in the Marine Corps and Army for nine years on active duty and three years as a reservist.
"This lawsuit seeks to stop the forced retention of men and women who have fulfilled their service obligations," said attorney Michael Sorgen. "When their period of enlistment ends, they should be entitled to return to their families."
He called the suit the first of its kind.
The Army has issued "stop-loss" orders preventing tens of thousands of soldiers designated to serve in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) from leaving the military if their volunteer service commitment ends during their deployment.
The Pentagon (news - web sites) has relied heavily on reservists to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The order violates Doe's right to due process and the terms of his enlistment contract, and is contrary to law," the lawsuit reads. "The involuntary extension of Doe's military enlistment constitutes a serious infringement on his liberty protected by the Constitution."
The San Francisco-area man, who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Northern California, fought during the invasion of Iraq. Married with two young daughters, he is seeking a release from service when his Army National Guard term ends in December.
The suit names the plaintiff's commander as Capt. Kincy Clark, who heads Bravo Company of the First Battalion, 184th Infantry regiment based in Dublin, California. The unit reported for duty on Monday and is expected to train for several months before going to Iraq in February or March.
"We have some soldiers who are obviously not overjoyed about being deployed," Clark told Reuters by telephone. "I have had to look them in the eye and say 'hey, you are going."'
He added that reservists know when signing up that "stop loss" or extension of service is a possibility.
A spokesman for the California National Guard declined to comment.
The extension of service for U.S. soldiers has also become an issue in the presidential campaign.
"We will end the backdoor draft of the National Guard and reservists," John Kerry (news - web sites) said in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in July.
The "stop loss" order means soldiers who otherwise could leave when their commitments expire will be compelled to remain until the end of a year-long overseas deployment and up to another 90 days after returning to their home base. Some may therefore be forced to remain in the military for months after they were scheduled to leave.
Since the military is an arm of the executive branch, I really see no solution to this in the courts.
Well if the 9th, circus gets involved, we know the result.
It's too bad that some people decide not to read the "fine print" before signing the dotted line. If he was told up from indirectly or not he should have considered the possibilities.
This will get tossed on summary judgment with an admonishment to "John Doe" and Michael Sorgen to read the fine print on the enlistment contract.
"This lawsuit seeks to stop the forced retention of men and women who have fulfilled their service obligations,"
If Kerry wins, we might see our military resign en masse. He will need his executive powers to force our soldiers to salute him.
I could see stop loss apply to individuals on a 90 day basis, but they should be aloud to get out. If the military is really that bad off, then inact the draft. Of course that wont happen til after the election.
And before you guys jump on me, I'm a Marine combat vetren and I volenteered to go.
"Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed...." "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."
Psalm 2:1-2, 12
"Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehoods school. And the one man that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool."- Plato
Education on the foundation: http://www.truthusa.org/quotes/
I've got to agree with you.... I did my four years as well, but if things are really so bad that reservists are being kept in, then the draft should be running right now.
Even the allegedly-professional Reuters news organization is not exempt from this error. It's CANNOT, folks (unless, of course, the intended meaning is that the gov't is able to not prevent reservists from leaving...).
MAIN ST. USA (AntiReuters) - Hundreds of thousands of decorated U.S. combat veterans on every day assert that they are pleased to serve the government and the people of the United States until terrorists around the world are vanquished.
Absolutly, but there are a few who did there time and would like to go home to thier kids. I see nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, I would rather have somebody next to me who wanted to be there. Its a trust thing.
I would have to say that Reservists who have committed to service our country should be allowed to go home when thier time expires. To me...forcing a reservist to stay after his enlistment expires is like holding a person against thier will. It is unfair. These people have fulfilled thier obligation to our country.
Let them be free for goodness sakes. Let them come home alive to thier families.
This suit does not have a chance in heck. And rightly so.
That said, although they legally can, I do not believe the military should be using people up the way they are. Stop loss should be on an individual basis of significant need, not a widespread personnel resource. The military needs people. And rather than pushing the people they have harder and harder, they need to go to Congress and get enough people to do the job. They have a bigger job than they have had since the cold war ended, and perhaps bigger than that. We need to expand our active duty military, especially the Army and maybe the Marines.
This guy has obviously not read the fine print in his contract. The government can hold him for administrative or legal reasons, not to mention we're in the middle of a flippin' war!!!
There is a clause in the contract that says that the duration of the contract can be extended by the military based on, "the needs of the Army"
(I can't speak for the other branches, but no doubt something similar.)
How can you have so little regard for our military? The men and women in the ranks are professionals. They defend the Constitiution and are not there to serve any one individual. They will serve under a President Kerry, they will salute him as their commander-in-chief because that is their job.
I had to much time invested, so I held my nose and stayed in.
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