NBC: Army stop-loss policy a back-door draft

The number of US soldiers "stop-lossed," or forced to serve past their agreed terms of enlistment (from an additional few months to over a year), has reached 58,000 in the past six years, NBC reports.

"Many lawmakers and critics claim the Army has used 'stop-loss' as a back-door draft to make up for the shortage of soldiers for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," reports Jim Miklaszewski.

"It is going to destroy the morale of our troops," adds Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT). "We've got to stop it."

Ed Janosik, a retired infantry major of the U.S. Army, writes that the stop-loss policy is an insult to U.S. troops.

This video is from NBC's Nightly News, broadcast May 18, 2008.