Marines Enact 4th Round of Stop Loss

[thedrifter]

Stars and Stripes reports that four U.S. Marine Corps commands got the go-ahead to again enact stop loss, which could keep an additional 500 Marines on active duty past their original separation or retirement dates. The new policy goes into effect Oct. 1, and will affect Marines who had planned on getting out of the Corps on Oct. 15 or later.In this fourth stop-loss round for the Corps, the commanders have been given authority to tap any military occupation specialty, provided the selected Marine is used in a force protection role and relieves a Reservist who has been activated for the past year. If deemed necessary, the commander of Marine Forces Atlantic can retain up to 179 active duty Marines, a number that corresponds with the number of Reservists who will have served in force protection roles for the past year. The commander of Marine Forces Pacific can retain up to 137 Marines and commanders of both the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Marine Corps Headquarters can retain up to 184 Marines combined.

The Corps is the only service with an active, indefinite stop-loss policy in effect. The Army modified its policy recently, and won't retain any soldiers more than a year past their original separation or retirement dates, an Army spokeswoman said. Both the Air Force and Navy have lifted their stop-loss policies, officials said.