The U.S. Army dismissed Marc Hall, a U.S. soldier who had been based in Mahmoudiya, Iraq, simply for voicing fierce opposition to the extension of his tour of duty. When the Army threatened to redeploy Hall’s unit just two months before his four-year enlistment contract expired, Hall wrote and recorded a rap CD, which he sent to the Army’s personnel office in Washington, D.C.
The Army’s “stop loss policy” caused Hall to be so angry. The unpopular policy requires any solider assigned to a unit at the time it deploys to be kept in the ranks for as long as a yearlong tour, even after enlistment contracts expire. Hall’s CD voiced his struggle against the U.S. Army itself and its attacks on soldiers. As a result of his opposition, Hall will lose all military benefits earned over four years.
Resistance among soldiers in the Army is growing. Only a mass movement in the United States against the wars can stand against veteran exploitation, demanding justice for all workers around the world.
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