Ignored orders

Thursday, April 24, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

To boost the number of troops in Iraq, the military has been keeping soldiers involuntarily past the end of their enlistment periods. The military calls it “stop loss.” Critics call it a “backdoor draft.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year ordered military leaders to reduce the number of troops held beyond their tours, but his order has been dismissed. USA Today reported this week that the Army reported a 43 percent increase in the number of troops from a year ago continuing to serve due to the stop-loss policy.

The Pentagon’s policy allows officials to extend the duty of soldiers who are due to leave the military within 90 days of their unit’s deployment. As of last month more than 12,000 soldiers were serving beyond the end of their military contract.

Gates’ spokesman told the newspaper it is unfortunate but necessary to keep “cohesive units together on the battlefield.” The average extension, the Pentagon said, is a little less than seven months.

Despite Gates’ order, the Army expects to continue using the stop-loss policy for at least two more years.

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., a retired admiral, said the Army is “unraveling a bit” and “under tremendous strain.” He said the Army could be relying on stop loss to mask its problem with recruiting.

Sestak said the Army lacks not just enough soldiers but also enough of the right types of soldiers to wage the war. For example, the Army has a shortage of sergeants to lead small groups of soldiers in battle, so sergeants have been disproportionately singled out for longer duty.

It is inexcusable that five years into the war the Army has to rely on this kind of program to bolster its numbers, and it is another sign of the poor planning that has marked the Bush administration’s handling of this war.