[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dr. Clifford Stanley, Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness)"]
Reposted from DoD Live
Perspectives from the Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness)
By Dr. Clifford Stanley, Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness)
Time is running short to claim retroactive stop loss pay. Please read this now and spread the word before the deadline elapses.
Service Members, Veterans, and beneficiaries of Service Members who were involuntarily extended under stop loss between September 11th, 2001 and September 30th 2009 are eligible for retroactive stop loss special pay of $500 for every month/partial month served in a stop loss status.
Congress generously authorized this special pay under the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act, but thus far, a little more than half of those eligible have claimed their money. When the deadline passes, the Department no longer has the authority to pay the benefit.
DoD continues to make numerous efforts to inform those who served in stop loss status: from public service announcements to individual letters to reaching out through Veteran Service Organizations. I have been thankful for the nation’s response in publicizing this important program. The White House, Congress, Dept of Veterans Affairs and military & veteran service organizations around the country have helped spread the word. Now with only three days left, we are making a final appeal to friends and families of service members around the world, whether this applies to you or someone you know.
If you are reading this blog, I am charging you with asking everyone you know if they served our country between 9/11 and 2009. Thank them for their service and then tell them if they served in a stop loss status, they have until
March 18th, 2011 to submit a claim for retroactive stop loss special pay.
Information on the simple and straightforward application process is online at
www.defense.gov/stoploss. Our Service Members worked hard and earned this benefit…please help us to remind them to claim it!
Read Dr. Stanley's original post at
http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2011/03/three-days-and-the-money-is-gone/#.
Read Dr. Stanley's weekly blog posts Tuesdays on
DoD Live.