Friday, Aug. 30, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.
After 20 years in the Air Force, Staff Sgt. Duran Gloster was looking forward to getting out of the military last September and moving on to a job with Metro Police.
Instead, Gloster -- and thousands of other servicemen across the country -- were ordered to remain on duty as Operation Enduring Freedom began.
"In my heart I've always wanted to join Metro, and I was gearing up for the academy last fall, but then I lost the opportunity," Gloster said. "When you're on 'stop loss' there isn't anything you can do.
"You're not going anywhere."
Under "stop loss" orders, military personnel are prevented from leaving the service even if they have reached retirement age or their discharge date. At Nellis Air Force Base more than 1,000 active duty personnel were placed on stop loss after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Overall, the lives of more than 10,000 Air Force personnel, mainly consisting of engineers, pilots, combat air controllers and security forces, were put on hold after Sept. 11. The Air Force has slowly decreased the number of personnel in stop loss status, and earlier this month released the final 3,300 overdue troops.
Gloster, who has worked in Nellis' control tower for the past 11 years, is among the last to be released. He is now scheduled to finish his military commitment in October.
"I was planning for my new life when Sept. 11 happened," Gloster said. "A few days later while I was working in the tower I got word that my plans had been changed for me."
Col. Del Eulberg, Nellis installation commander, said that forcing people to stay in the military is always a difficult issue.
"You're basically putting people's lives on hold," Eulberg said. "There is a great deal of sacrifice involved. People lose jobs and opportunities, but we've had very little complaints from those who have had to face this."
Once selected for stop loss status a soldier can appeal, but that process can take months and only the most extreme circumstances are considered, said Capt. Kelly Cahalan, a Nellis spokeswoman.
"If you don't go along with it then you're AWOL," Cahalan said.
That wasn't an option for Gloster.
"I was ready to go after 20 years, but it's not like I don't like my job at Nellis, so it wasn't that bad," Gloster said. "I always say that I've got the only job where you get paid to look out the window all day.
"I don't want to put anyone down, but there are worse places you could be stuck on stop loss. I like Las Vegas. It's not like I'm stationed somewhere like Mountain Home, Idaho."
While those active personnel on stop loss are now being released, 14,000 mobilized Air National Guardsmen have had their tours of duty extended by a year. Many of these reservists, including about 200 Nevada guardsmen, will end up being deployed for the maximum two years.
While both reserves and active personnel have been pressed into additional duty, those on stop loss were a primary concern to the military, said Michael Dominguez, Air Force assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs.
"Although we have the legal authority to initiate stop loss, it is an extreme measure," Dominguez said. "The reserve components know going in that they can be called up for up to two years. It's in their contract.
"Stop loss is more of an unexpected move."
The challenge for the Air Force will be to find qualified replacements for those that are now leaving, and to replace the guardsmen when their deployment is up, Dominguez said.
"We're adjusting our skill force and moving more recruits to our areas of stress like security and combat control, but we're a couple of years away from seeing those people," Dominguez said. "You don't just create bodies out of thin air."
The Air Force is also looking at moving personnel from desk jobs to fill stressed areas. Hiring contract security guards to do more menial tasks, relying on more technology and designing more secure buildings and facilities will help cut the need for personnel, Dominguez said.
"We're leaving no stone unturned, but in the meantime it's going to fall on the commanders and people already in the career fields to pick up the pieces," Dominguez said. "There are no plans to start stop loss again, but were the nation to go to war with another country it would be a different equation."
Gloster is hoping to be out of the Air Force and starting a new job before that happens. With Metro running two academies and hiring about 85 new officers a year, Gloster plans to finally apply to the department.
"It's still a little terrifying that I have to go out and get a job, but at least I'll have the option," Gloster said.
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