Joining the Army is easy, leaving is almost impossible. Thanks to "stop-loss" program.

The U.S. Army has forced about 50,000 soldiers to continue serving after their voluntary stints ended under a policy called "stop-loss," but while some dispute its fairness, court challenges have fallen flat.

"As the war in Iraq drags on, the Army is accumulating a collection of problems that cumulatively could call into question the viability of an all-volunteer force," said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute think tank.

"When a service has to repeatedly resort to compelling the retention of people who want to leave, you're edging away from the whole notion of volunteerism."

They refer to this as a backdoor draft. You have to know that these soldiers are angry and frustrated at the prospect of being kept in Iraq until they are killed. As if being killed is the only way out of the Army anymore.