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PLOT OUTLINE:
"Stop-Loss" centers on decorated Iraq War hero Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), a soldier who makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty.
Brandon tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his loving family, and his best friend, Steve (Channing Tatum), who served with Brandon in Iraq.
Then, against Brandon’s will, under the military's "stop-loss" procedure, the Army indefinitely extends his enlistment and forces him back to Iraq. This desvastates Brandon, and sends him to one of the only people he can trust: his childhood friend's fiancée, Michele (Abbie Cornish).
Michele becomes Brandon’s confidante and accomplice as he races across the U.S. – a fugitive from justice in the country he fought to protect – in search of a way out of his predicament.
"Stop-Loss" centers on decorated Iraq War hero Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), a soldier who makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty.
Brandon tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his loving family, and his best friend, Steve (Channing Tatum), who served with Brandon in Iraq.
Then, against Brandon’s will, under the military's "stop-loss" procedure, the Army indefinitely extends his enlistment and forces him back to Iraq. This desvastates Brandon, and sends him to one of the only people he can trust: his childhood friend's fiancée, Michele (Abbie Cornish).
Michele becomes Brandon’s confidante and accomplice as he races across the U.S. – a fugitive from justice in the country he fought to protect – in search of a way out of his predicament.
"I honored my contract and the Army should do the same" If you're going to make a movie, know what the fuck you're talking about. Like I said, they own your ass for 8 years. Just because you served four, that doesn't mean they can't send your ass back.
The stop-loss policy, in the United States military, is the retention of troops to remain in service beyond their expected term of service.[1] It has been argued that soldiers contractually agree to partake in stop-loss, but this may or may not be the case, and the issue is still being debated, both in public and in federal court. Stop loss was created by Congress after the Vietnam War. Stop-loss has been justified on the legal basis of paragraph 9(c) which states: "In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless the enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States" but which has not been reviewed in full by a federal court system.
The use of this provision has been criticized by many as abuse of the spirit of the law, due to the fact it is often used in circmstances that Congress has not yet declared as war, such as in the current occupation in Iraq.
Stop-loss was first significantly used just before and during the first Gulf War. According to a military publication[1], "the Army last used stop loss during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990 when President George H. W. Bush delegated stop loss authority to the defense secretary." Since then, it has been used more extensively; since 2001 primarily after the national State of emergency declared by President George W. Bush
Stop-loss, as well as the practice of involuntary extension, have been controversial. In a campaign speech in 2004, former presidential candidate John Kerry described stop-loss policy as a "backdoor draft."[1]
The first legal challenge to this policy came in August 2004, with a lawsuit challenged by an anonymous National Guardsman in California.[2] A basis for the suit is that stop-loss does not apply to the current situation in Iraq, which is a military occupation and not a war zone. Another argument used in the case is that it broke the contract of the guardsman, as he had already fulfilled his IRR obligation.
The first legal challenge to the extension of term of service of military call-up or contract occurred during the American Civil War, when a soldier was courtmartialed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton himself.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, as one of his first acts in his position, penned a memo compelling commanders to "minimize" the stop-lossing of soldiers.
The United States Department of Defense now has begun a program to replace the stop-loss, as it is "too controversial". The new program, known as Involuntary Extension, is a circumvention of stop-loss, and simply changes the ETS [end time service] date on a soldier's LES (Leave and Earnings Statement).
The Army claims that enlisted soldiers facing stop loss can now voluntarily separate from the United States Army by request, under provision 3-12, but this is deceptive because only after they complete an involuntary deployment of twelve to fifteen months and 90 days "stabilization time" can they apply.
Iraq Veterans Against the War, an activist organization of former and current service members, in solidarity with former Specialist and Iraq vet Evan Knappenberger, has announced a national "Stop the Stop-Loss" campaign at a recent press conference where they were holding a week-long vigil in a tower erected on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Other anti-Stop-Loss vigils have occured in Bellingham, Washington, and Colorado Springs, Colorado
The lack of imagery analyst NCO's was to blame. So I went from civilian life to war zone just like that. I hated it, it sucked and basically destroyed my first marriage, but I sucked it up and did what i had to do. I knew what I was signing up for and I just happened to be one of the few that they actually pull off IRR.