Director Kimberly Peirce

Director Kimberly Peirce said: A number of vets have written to me and I wanted to begin to share their incredibly moving stories with you. This is a note that I got this morning from a soldier who is STOP-LOSSED who said I could share the note with all of you. Feel free to post your reactions and stories.

NOTE FROM THE STOP-LOSSED SOLDIER: “I represent a unit called 3/509th Airborne Infantry stationed out of Fort Richardson, Alaska. I am a 4 year specialist (E4) who is due to be released from active duty service in October of this year. I am mere months away from resuming my life as a civilian and about a month ago I was informed that myself and at least a thousand others would be stop loss to extend beyond our active duty time requirements to deploy to Afghanistan. I realized when I signed up back in July '04 that inevitably I would serve in Iraq and that it would be the longest year of my life. I found out back in April '07 that my unit would be extended by an additional 90 days. We carried on with the mission without complaint and did precisely what was asked of us. Home at that moment seemed even more distant and the possibility of seeing wives, children, mom and dad seemed bleak at best.

We arrived back from a long and drawn out deployment in November '07 with 8 less men (just my company) than when we left. The unit altogether suffered the greatest number of KIA's than any other unit serving during that 14 month period. We paid dearly both in the physical and mental realm and some men paid the greatest cost.

No sooner than a month of being back from post deployment leave those with ETS dates later than October 1st were informed that they would be stop loss and that by or around February '09 we would be heading back to another hot spot in the world, Afghanistan, for another 12 month deployment. None of us had even grasped the idea of being back in a familiar world when we're told of the news. The unit has it's eye on what the Pentagon is referring to as a “rapid deployment program” which would actually shorten the length of time a soldier is assured between deployments as well as lessen the time to train up to be combat ready and deal with the vast array of scenarios we will be thrown into by deploying to Afghanistan.

We have formed a group of about 100 men who take exception to this order and are doing everything within our limited power to contest the decision. We feel that this action is nothing short of coercion and furthermore feel that it demonstrates evidence that this "backdoor draft" is a less than flattering example of conscription. It is only a grassroots movement at the time being but with public awareness (due to the release of the film) and congressional involvement perhaps something can be done to counteract this.

There is a web site, which our organization is hosting which can be found at www.armystoploss.com. It was our hope that perhaps this movie would help us bring to light the drastic effects stop loss has on it's brave volunteers and more than that the courageous families and loved ones of these selfless heroes.

The message here is that we are patriotic Americans who left their former lives to make 4 and 5 year sacrifices. We became fighting machines because our country needed us to. We delivered on our end of the contract and now we just want to carry on the lives we so desperately wish to get back to. The sentiment amongst most on the post is that we should just shut up and stop complaining but when you consider the numbers that the stop loss action has effected one marvels at the very thought of a thousand men at once being placed under this category.

It's important that the average American realize that this is happening to soldiers and that something must be done to thwart it. Many of us are prepared to fight this cause to the very end but would rather not see it come to that. The movie we feel will go a long way in defining for audiences the precise agony and disgust we are all feeling about this.

Your characters are as real as the air you breathe, Ms. Peirce, and they number not just in the hundreds but thousands.

We have an uphill battle ahead of us, as the threat of stop loss becomes apparent more and more each day. As our group continues to grow by the tens each day we realize that ultimately we are powerless. A contract is a contract but there are boundaries of decency which are being crossed. The message behind stop loss is a blatant abuse of the young men and women who subject themselves to a volunteer status every day in this country. Deployment time is set for February of next year when we ship off for Afghanistan. There is an inextricable link between the characters of the movie and the very real story taking place in our own lives.

When you consider the paltry pay we receive for doing what it is we do for our country it's a marvel we have been as organized as we have been. It takes funding to make a whole community aware of the predicament we face. This movie is precisely the wind our sails are needing to better illustrate and push our cause.

Regardless of whether Ryan Phillippe's character ends up going back to Iraq or not is of little consequence to us. We are just glad to know that a director took some time to deliver a movie like this to the masses. Thanks for telling it like it is. The average soldier thanks you and this organization is indebted to you for your work alone on this film.”