YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — The Army’s latest stop-loss and stop-move order will not affect 8th Army soldiers, officials in South Korea announced Wednesday.
The Army does not plan to implement a stop loss or stop move here, according to Col. Rick Mustion, commander 8th Personnel Command. But those soldiers who are leaving 8th Army to deploying units could be affected by the order, approved last week by Army Secretary Les Brownlee, according to a news release.
Stop-loss orders prevent soldiers from retiring or leaving the service, and stop-movement orders halt duty station moves.
“We anticipate no delay in soldiers departing Korea in accordance with their current DEROS dates,” the release stated. “In addition, there are currently no plans to involuntarily extend soldiers on the Korean Peninsula.”
Soldiers assigned to those units will be in a stop-loss/stop-move status for a 90-day period prior to deployment and for 90 days after the main body redeployment. Eighth Army soldiers changing stations will continue to move to those units under current reporting dates, officials said.
It’s the Army’s second stop-loss/stop-move order this year, affecting all active-duty units preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army isn’t releasing the number of soldiers affected by the policy “due to operational sensitivities.”
Exempt from stop loss are soldiers who are on terminal leave, have already shipped their household goods or are 14 days away from separation. It also does not affect involuntary separations or retirements.
