'Stop-loss' soldiers still waiting for pay

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. soldiers forced to return to active duty haven't received the pay bonuses they were promised five months ago, advocates say.

The 13,000 soldiers, who were made to remain on active duty beyond their enlistment period by so-called stop-loss orders, are entitled to monthly bonuses of up to $500 under a plan approved last year by Congress and was set to take effect Oct. 1. But the soldiers are still waiting to see the bonuses, USA Today reported Monday.

"It is unacceptable that the Department (of Defense) has failed to construct a plan for issuing these payments," said U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who is chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. "Stop-loss is nothing more than a backdoor draft, and … if the Defense Department is going to insist on holding service members under stop-loss orders, then they should be compensated for their service."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman admitted the delay in paying the bonuses and told USA Today the Defense Department is working on a plan to start paying the soldiers.