As many of you know, the US military has “stop-loss” measures in effect at this time.  Basically, what this means is that servicemen are not being permitted to retire/leave military service at the end of their contractual obligation.  Particularly, this is being justified in order to maintain “unit cohesion” for deploying units.

A California National Guard soldier is challenging this measure.  His basic argument is that he has completed the time required of him by his contract, now the Army has to uphold its end and release him from service.  His time, by the way, included years of honorable service, including a previous tour in Iraq.

While I don't know what the outcome of this case will be, it raises some very important legal, political, and moral issues.  I will be watching this story closely as it develops, as will many of the over 40,000 soldiers affected by this policy in the Army alone.