The College Fix

For 145,000 stop-loss veterans, the chance to get paid for extra service has been extended.

“Stop-loss” refers to an extension in service members’ active duty that retains them past the end of their original contracts.

President Barack Obama signed a resolution Thursday extending the deadline to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay from Oct. 21 to Dec. 3.

The program was enacted to compensate military members whose service was extended during Stop Loss between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Less than 60,000 of the 145,000 eligible service members have submitted a claim for pay so far.

“The reason they extended the deadline is… a majority of (the 145,000 members) still had not applied for the benefits, and that’s why they extended it,” said Michael Forrest, program director for Veterans Affairs at Ohio State.

Eligible members can receive up to $500 per month in stop loss. The average total payout so far is approximately $3,800, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

Rob Gooden, office manager with the Air Force ROTC at OSU, said he didn’t know if many people were aware of the deadline but is still trying to spread the word.

“We are just trying to get the word out that the folks who were caught up in this can apply for this $500 special pay,” he said.

Though few people at OSU are affected, other veterans and ROTC members said they would want to know about compensation.

Read the full story at the Ohio State Lantern.

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