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A veteran US soldier is suing the Defence Department over its plans to forcibly extend his reservist's contract and send him to Iraq. The man, known by the pseudonym John Doe, has been with the army for nine years and last year served in Iraq. Posted on 08/18/2004 5:32:59 PM PDT by traumer
A veteran US soldier is suing the Defence Department over its plans to forcibly extend his reservist's contract and send him to Iraq. The man, known by the pseudonym John Doe, has been with the army for nine years and last year served in Iraq.
He took on a one-year reservist contract after returning to the US and may now be required to return to Iraq under the army's "stop-loss" policy.
Thousands of soldiers' tours of duty have been stretched under the policy. Mr Doe's contract was due to have expired in December this year.
But the summoning of his California-based unit to Iraq could extend his period of service by up to two years.
'Post-traumatic stress'
Amongst those named in Mr Doe's lawsuit are Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee.
A National Guard official told the Reuters agency Mr Doe may not be mobilized with the rest of his unit because of his "physical condition" - the decorated veteran of conflicts in Somalia and Iraq suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to his lawsuit.
But a lawyer for Mr Doe, Michael Sorgen, said this would not affect the planned legal action.
"His understanding is that he does not have to be shipped out now, but how does he know they're not going to give him an order to ship out at some future time," Mr Sorgen said.
'Backdoor draft'
The "stop-loss" policy was set up after the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
The army has argued that the policy is vital to ensure the army is staffed by seasoned professionals at times of emergency.
But Mr Doe's lawyers say the US Congress has not officially declared war in Iraq or elsewhere, so the emergency provision enabling the army to forcibly extend soldiers' contracts is illegal.
"American citizens cannot constitutionally be required to serve involuntarily and indefinitely at whim," the lawsuit says.
The "stop-loss" policy has also been attacked by US presidential contender John Kerry, who described it as "the backdoor draft".
When does a "Volunteer Army" cease to be volunteer?
Is he still a "contender"??
If George Bush said that the sky was blue, Kerry would take a contrary position.
Actually, Kerry would be right (for once). The sky isn't any more blue than water is blue - it just refracts the high end of visible light.
Thank you Professor Wizard!
"He took on a one-year reservist contract after returning to the US and may now be required to return to Iraq under the army's "stop-loss" policy. "
?????????
Everything about this story seems to be gibrish. Wasn't it a marine in another story?
Facts? We don't need no stinkin' facts!
This has the potential to be huge. What if the Supremes say this is illegal?
This is just a political ploy to help Kerry with his phony back door draft bullship.
If he's a Reservist, he's a volunteer, but is obliged to serve as the need requires while a member of said Reserves, am I not right? No one forced him into the Reserves.
The problem with stoploss, is that a person is not allowed to get out. This is less of an issue, if the person still has time on their contract ( ie, IRR, etc.) This soldier, and many more have completed all obligations to the military and are not allowed to get out for as much as 2 years after their enlistment ends. The problem is that there is no "State of Emergency" declared, plus the army is saying that they are meeting recruiting goals, and so to enslave someone and not let them finish their contract in these circumstances violates basic rights. If there are not stiffer penalties, or guidlines, they can force any person to stay in at whim, for as long as they want.
You only volunteer once! (More if you re-up)
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