Financial Frontlines®

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1 Oct 2010 – Deadline to Apply for Retroactive Stop-Loss Pay Extended

Calling all service members who served after September 11, 2001 and were stop-lossed; the Service kept you longer than your service commitment date.  It is estimated that there are 86,000 former service members eligible for this pay.

You earned extra pay due to your stop-loss service time but you have to apply to get the money.  Surviving spouses may also qualify for this money.

The deadline to file for retroactive stop-loss pay was just extended by Congress to 3 December 2010.  The original deadline was 31 October.

Each service member is due $500 for each month of stop-loss service.

Please help spread the word if you know anyone who served in the armed forces after September 2001.

To apply to go: http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2010/0710_stoploss/

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****UPDATE FOR NAVY PERSONNEL*****

8 Dec 09: The Navy site is up and running.  Go to: :   http://www.npc.navy.mil/channels to make your application.

25 Nov 09. The Navy Retro Stop-Loss Pay program isn’t quite finalized yet, but soon. Once finalized, details will be published on the Navy Personnel Center web site. In the meantime, you can contact the project office to have your name added to the list of eligibles. The eligibles will be contacted with application procedures. Call or write: CDR Raffier, (703) 614-5565 or john.raffier@navy.mil.

—————-UPDATE 25 Nov 09——————-

I spoke to the Army last Friday. The process is stumbling along but there is nothing shady going on. The Army program office is getting plenty of “help” from the top of the food chain. This program is getting loads of visibility from OSD and Congress. Until they get the flow down on the process, things will be a bit rocky. The main issue with the mismatch letters is how the law and Army policy defines being Stop-Lossed. Evidently, the law-policy is not the same as the dates on Service docs. That causes manual reviews.

Regarding the Navy; they owe me a call back but I’ll be following up with them. When I spoke to them 3 weeks ago or so, I was told there are so few Navy members impacted by Stop-Loss that the Navy would personally contact each member and work the application. I’ll confirm this soon.

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UPDATE 21 Oct 09. So you folks in the Army are already applying and finding the web site works. Excellent.

Here is the Army site for applicants. 

For you Air Force folks, here is your application site.

For Navy, email NXAG_N132C@navy.mil.

For Marines, go to https://www.manpower.usmc.mil/stoploss.

Please help spread the word on this special pay. There is a one year application period starting 21 Oct 09. If someone misses the window, that’s all she wrote. Let’s try to prevent the situation where some people never get the word.

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This comes thanks to the Stars and Stripes Newspaper. Looks like 21 Oct will be the start of the program and everyone eligible has until 21 Oct 2010 to apply for payment. Help spread the word to your family, friends and neighbors who may be involved.

While this speaks of the Army, so far it seems the Navy and Marines, who have the fewest members due this payment, will probably contact their eligible members personally.  We haven’t heard from the Air Force on their possible game plan.  I’ll post new details as soon as I get them.  Same timelines apply to all Services.

Quote:

Army says stop-loss back payments are set to begin

Soldiers with claims dating to 2001 may receive $500 for each month they were extended

By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes

European edition, Friday, September 25, 2009

ARLINGTON, Va. — All soldiers who spent extra time on active duty because of stop loss since September 2001 will be eligible by for $500-per-month cash payouts that could begin arriving later this year, an Army compensation official said.

Earlier this year, the Army began compensating soldiers held under stop-loss since October 2008, but Congress has expanded the program to include all troops stop-lossed since September 2001.

Those eligible under the program can receive $500 for every month they were held beyond his or her initial end of obligated service, said Deborah Holman, deputy chief of compensation for Army G-1.

The Defense Department will issue implementing instructions for the new program on Oct. 21. The Army plans on setting up a Web site by November that will allow people to apply for the compensation, Holman said.

Stop loss allows the Defense Department to hold servicemembers beyond their separation or retirement date to complete their deployments. All of the services have used stop loss, but only the Army has continued to use it since 2003.

Roughly 185,000 servicemembers are eligible for the compensation. Of those the Army estimates about 136,000 are soldiers or family of deceased soldiers.

Current and former soldiers, as well as surviving spouses, can apply for the compensation. Holman said applicants must provide a servicemember’s DD-214, a copy of their contract, and proof that the soldier was stop-lossed.

Those eligible under the program have until Oct. 21, 2010, to apply, she said.

Congress allocated $534.4 million to the program in June, but the Defense Department may need about $600 million to make all the payouts, Holman said.

Of the remaining servicemembers who are eligible for compensation, about 39,000 are from the Air Force, 9,660 are from the Marines and 250 are from the Navy, officials said.

Unquote.

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