Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced on March 18 that the Army will phase out the use of the controversial "stop loss" program that requires service members to extend their active duty past the scheduled end of their term of service.

According to a story from the American Forces Press Service, the Army — which is the only branch of the military using the program — has 13,000 soldiers whose active duty was extended through the program so they could deploy with their units.

"Effective this August, the U.S. Army Reserve will no longer mobilize units under stop loss," Gates said in a Pentagon news conference. "The Army National Guard will stop doing so in September, and active Army units will cease employing stop loss in January."

The goal is to nearly eliminate the number of soldiers remaining in the Army under stop loss by March 2011. "We will retain the authority to use stop loss under extraordinary circumstances," Gates said.

"We have the legal authority to do it," Gates said of the program. "But … I felt, particularly in these numbers, that it was breaking faith. It wasn't a violation of the enlistment contract. But I believe that when somebody's end date of service comes up, to hold them against their will, if you will, is just not the right thing to do."

In order to offset losses from eliminating the program, the Army will pay stop-lossed soldiers $500 a month to voluntarily extend their enlistments.

We'll see how this all shakes out over the course of the next year, but Gates' announcement certainly shows the administration's commitment to keeping this promise. And so we move it to In the Works.