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| | Stop Loss For Troops Is Official |
 | | The stop loss includes all active-duty soldiers currently in Iraq, or "Operation Iraqi Freedom 1," (OIF1) as Pentagon leaders call the rotation, as well as all active soldiers in Afghanistan who are assigned to "Operation Enduring Freedom 4," (OEF4) the current rotation in that country. |
 | | The new order, which is being characterized as an "expansion" of past stop losses, will "ensure personnel losses from the deployed [forces in Iraq and Afghanistan] caused by separations and PCS do not adversely affect force readiness and combat capability," the message said. |
 | | Active soldiers who have already been under one of the Army's previous stop losses, whether the unit stop loss imposed Feb. 3 and lifted May 3 or the 12-month, skills-based stop loss lifted in November, are also affected by this new order, the message said. |
| www.military.com /NewsContent/0,13319,FL_stop_011004,00.html (552 words) |
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