Da-Chief
04-15-2009, 17:14
:panda: By Michelle Tan
mtan@militarytimes.com (%C2%A0mtan@militarytimes.com)
In a windfall for all deploying reservists, the Army Reserve’s plan for replacing stop-loss in*cludes offering up to $1,200 extra to each one of its soldiers headed to the war zone after Aug. 1.
The payments are to begin soon and are intended as an incentive to get reservists who have the op*tion of separating before their units’ war tour to stay on at least through the deployment. Reserve leaders say the plan is to main*tain unit cohesion, and with that goal in mind, it decided to pay the extra cash to every soldier in de*ploying units.
Reserve leaders crafted the plan in a bid to help bolster manning after the end of stop*loss, the policy that for at least the last six years has allowed all Army components to involuntar*ily keep soldiers in the ranks of deploying units beyond their separation and retirement dates. The Reserve will be the first component to begin mobilizing units without stop-loss, begin*ning in August. The Guard will follow in September and the ac*tive Army in January.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced March 18 that stop-loss would be phased out over the next two years and or*dered that as of April 1, soldiers from any component serving under the policy get an extra $500 a month until the elimina*tion of stop-loss.
In March, about 700 enlisted Reserve soldiers were under stop-loss orders, said Lt. Col. Jay Jackson, chief of current opera*tions in the Reserve G-1. As soon as the Reserve receives Defense Department approval, soldiers preparing to mobilize on or after Aug. 1 will receive an additional $200 every drill weekend, up to $1,200 total.
Asked why the incentive is being paid not just to soldiers who would have faced stop-loss but also to those whose service obligations carry through mobi*lization and deployment, Re*serve leaders cited the need for unit cohesion.
Reserve soldiers whose units will mobilize on or after Aug. 1 have a number of options, said Lt. Col. Paul Hester, strategic plans officer for the Reserve G-1. They can extend or re-enlist to deploy with the unit. Six months before the unit deploys, they will begin receiving the extra pay.
But if they choose not to extend or re-enlist, they will not deploy and not receive the extra pay. Depending on their situation, the soldiers could be transferred to their higher headquarters, to the Individual Ready Reserve, to an*other reserve unit or their unit’s rear-detachment, Hester said.
Soldiers who choose to stay with the unit must make their decision, and commit in writing, one year to six months before their unit’s mobilization date to give commanders time to fill any vacancies, Hester said.
Six months before a unit mobi*lizes, it is considered a high-pri*ority unit and qualifies for the Reserve’s Designated Unit Stabi*lization Program, or DUSP.
Stabilizing units “The goal is to stabilize units six months before they deploy,” Hester said.
Under DUSP, soldiers receive the additional $200 every drill weekend, or $50 per unit train*ing assembly, for a maximum of $1,200 in the six months leading up to their mobilization.
All soldiers in a designated unit, regardless of their ETS or retirement dates, qualify for DUSP pay if they are deploying with the unit.
Soldiers whose ETS or retire*ment dates will come up during the unit’s deployment must re*enlist or extend to qualify for DUSP payments.
“DUSP is not only a plan or a program to mitigate stop-loss, but it’s more of a plan to stabi*lize units,” Hester said. “What this program does is, it encour*ages participating at the assem*blies in the six months prior to mobilization. By encouraging maximum participation you in*crease unit cohesion, you in*crease pre-mobilization training, which increases boots on the ground time when the unit’s in Iraq or Afghanistan.” By August, officials expect about 1,600 Reserve soldiers to be involved in DUSP, and they anticipate spending about $8 million on the program for the remainder of this fiscal year.
The Reserve is finalizing de*tails for DUSP and awaiting final approval from the Defense Department.
Because of that, soldiers in units deploying less than six months from now and after Aug. 1, when the Reserve stops using stop-loss, will get a chance to earn the full $1,200 through rescheduled training or addition* al assemblies, Hester said.
“Units that will mobilize in Au*gust, we’ll make sure they are el*igible for the full $1,200,” he said. “No one will be forced to, but the unit will be granted an exception to perform [resched*uled and extra training].” Once deployed, soldiers who chose to extend their service in order to deploy can decide to re*enlist any time up to their ETS date.
The Reserve does not have a program similar to that of the active Army, which plans to offer soldiers up to $500 a month if they extend and deploy with their unit. The Army National Guard is working on a similar incentive program and as of April 10 was still waiting for DoD to approve its plan.
Instead, the Reserve will rely on incentives such as DUSP and volunteerism to fill deploying units, said Lt. Col. Mark Cog*burn, chief of strategic communi*cations for the Reserve G-1.
Another method that the Re*serve also can use is cross-level*ing, in which vacancies in a de*ploying unit are filled with soldiers from another unit.
“Cross-leveling is still going to be necessary, but it’s really our last means to filling units,” Cog*burn said. “The DUSP is one of the incentives we’re using to get soldiers to volunteer [to de*ploy]
mtan@militarytimes.com (%C2%A0mtan@militarytimes.com)
In a windfall for all deploying reservists, the Army Reserve’s plan for replacing stop-loss in*cludes offering up to $1,200 extra to each one of its soldiers headed to the war zone after Aug. 1.
The payments are to begin soon and are intended as an incentive to get reservists who have the op*tion of separating before their units’ war tour to stay on at least through the deployment. Reserve leaders say the plan is to main*tain unit cohesion, and with that goal in mind, it decided to pay the extra cash to every soldier in de*ploying units.
Reserve leaders crafted the plan in a bid to help bolster manning after the end of stop*loss, the policy that for at least the last six years has allowed all Army components to involuntar*ily keep soldiers in the ranks of deploying units beyond their separation and retirement dates. The Reserve will be the first component to begin mobilizing units without stop-loss, begin*ning in August. The Guard will follow in September and the ac*tive Army in January.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced March 18 that stop-loss would be phased out over the next two years and or*dered that as of April 1, soldiers from any component serving under the policy get an extra $500 a month until the elimina*tion of stop-loss.
In March, about 700 enlisted Reserve soldiers were under stop-loss orders, said Lt. Col. Jay Jackson, chief of current opera*tions in the Reserve G-1. As soon as the Reserve receives Defense Department approval, soldiers preparing to mobilize on or after Aug. 1 will receive an additional $200 every drill weekend, up to $1,200 total.
Asked why the incentive is being paid not just to soldiers who would have faced stop-loss but also to those whose service obligations carry through mobi*lization and deployment, Re*serve leaders cited the need for unit cohesion.
Reserve soldiers whose units will mobilize on or after Aug. 1 have a number of options, said Lt. Col. Paul Hester, strategic plans officer for the Reserve G-1. They can extend or re-enlist to deploy with the unit. Six months before the unit deploys, they will begin receiving the extra pay.
But if they choose not to extend or re-enlist, they will not deploy and not receive the extra pay. Depending on their situation, the soldiers could be transferred to their higher headquarters, to the Individual Ready Reserve, to an*other reserve unit or their unit’s rear-detachment, Hester said.
Soldiers who choose to stay with the unit must make their decision, and commit in writing, one year to six months before their unit’s mobilization date to give commanders time to fill any vacancies, Hester said.
Six months before a unit mobi*lizes, it is considered a high-pri*ority unit and qualifies for the Reserve’s Designated Unit Stabi*lization Program, or DUSP.
Stabilizing units “The goal is to stabilize units six months before they deploy,” Hester said.
Under DUSP, soldiers receive the additional $200 every drill weekend, or $50 per unit train*ing assembly, for a maximum of $1,200 in the six months leading up to their mobilization.
All soldiers in a designated unit, regardless of their ETS or retirement dates, qualify for DUSP pay if they are deploying with the unit.
Soldiers whose ETS or retire*ment dates will come up during the unit’s deployment must re*enlist or extend to qualify for DUSP payments.
“DUSP is not only a plan or a program to mitigate stop-loss, but it’s more of a plan to stabi*lize units,” Hester said. “What this program does is, it encour*ages participating at the assem*blies in the six months prior to mobilization. By encouraging maximum participation you in*crease unit cohesion, you in*crease pre-mobilization training, which increases boots on the ground time when the unit’s in Iraq or Afghanistan.” By August, officials expect about 1,600 Reserve soldiers to be involved in DUSP, and they anticipate spending about $8 million on the program for the remainder of this fiscal year.
The Reserve is finalizing de*tails for DUSP and awaiting final approval from the Defense Department.
Because of that, soldiers in units deploying less than six months from now and after Aug. 1, when the Reserve stops using stop-loss, will get a chance to earn the full $1,200 through rescheduled training or addition* al assemblies, Hester said.
“Units that will mobilize in Au*gust, we’ll make sure they are el*igible for the full $1,200,” he said. “No one will be forced to, but the unit will be granted an exception to perform [resched*uled and extra training].” Once deployed, soldiers who chose to extend their service in order to deploy can decide to re*enlist any time up to their ETS date.
The Reserve does not have a program similar to that of the active Army, which plans to offer soldiers up to $500 a month if they extend and deploy with their unit. The Army National Guard is working on a similar incentive program and as of April 10 was still waiting for DoD to approve its plan.
Instead, the Reserve will rely on incentives such as DUSP and volunteerism to fill deploying units, said Lt. Col. Mark Cog*burn, chief of strategic communi*cations for the Reserve G-1.
Another method that the Re*serve also can use is cross-level*ing, in which vacancies in a de*ploying unit are filled with soldiers from another unit.
“Cross-leveling is still going to be necessary, but it’s really our last means to filling units,” Cog*burn said. “The DUSP is one of the incentives we’re using to get soldiers to volunteer [to de*ploy]