• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Army lifts OIF 'stop movement' order

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 19, 2003) -- With the victory in Iraq, the Army is lifting its "stop movement" order issued earlier this year so that soldiers will soon be able to report to their next assignment.

The "stop loss" measures -- keeping soldiers in certain job specialties and in selected units from leaving active duty -- is also expected to be incrementally lifted in the near future.

Between December and February, the Army executed an active-component unit stop move and stop loss to stabilize forces preparing for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Army Personnel Command officials said. With the cessation of OIF major combat operations, they said the Army is lifting "stop move" to again distribute soldiers across the force, to satisfy readiness and professional development needs.

Allowing soldiers to change duty stations will support the readiness of forces in Korea, Army Transformation, the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, the Longbow Apache helicopter units and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles program, officials said. They said this will also allow soldiers to move to drill sergeant and other instructor positions, become recruiters, and serve in joint assignments.

For most soldiers redeploying home from Iraq and other OIF countries, PERSCOM's goal is to provide a 90-day stabilization period before changing assignments, personnel officials said. But they said soldiers may voluntarily waive the 90-day stabilization period, if they want.

PERSCOM will continue to phase deferments and adjust report dates as necessary to support on-going OIF operations, officials said.

"Stop-move" for officers will be lifted in phases, officials said. In February, PERSCOM deferred all officers in OIF units with report dates of March 1 to May 31.

Officers with old report dates in June and July will now have a new report date of Aug. 31. PERSCOM will make a determination later this summer on whether to defer the move of officers with original report dates in August.

The intent of the phased approach is to limit officer personnel turbulence, while at the same time preserve planned assignments and minimize disruptions to officer professional development timelines, officials said. They said they will try to support a 14-day overlap between incoming officers and incumbents in the OIF area of operations.

Soldiers scheduled to attend schools will usually not have their report dates deferred, officials said, unless the school adjusts its class dates.

Report dates will not be automatically adjusted for officers selected for command or for assignments in Central Command, Korea, Special Operations Command, Northern Command, and special management units, PERSCOM officials said.