US Soldier Jailed for writing song about Stop Loss

Army specialist Marc Hall has been jailed after writing a rap song against the Army's controversial stop loss policy and mailing it to the Pentagon. The stop loss policy makes it legal for the army to extend a soldier's deployment or service beyond their designated time in the military. Hall isn't the first soldier to raise questions about the policy, but now his could have further implications for freedom of speech in the army.





A 2nd article

Marc Hall jailed for angry 'Stop-Loss' Hip Hop song

Stop-lossed Army Specialist Marc Hall (aka Hip Hop artist Marc Watercus) was placed in the Liberty County Jail Friday, December 11 for speaking out against the continuing policy that has barred him from exiting the military, including recording an angry and explicit song. Servicemembers do not completely give up their rights to free speech, and certainly not when they do so artistically while off duty. However, the military intends to hold Marc in the county jail for months of pre-trial punishment before court martial. This could become a precedent setting case for boundaries of dissent within the ranks. Free Marc! Free speech! Free the troops from Stop Loss!

Full MP3 and the Whole article




Marc's Personal Website


[edit on 30-12-2009 by OpTiMuS_PrImE]

When I was enlisted we all hated the idea of a STOP-LOSS. If you serve your country honorably for your original term, you should be allowed to ETS without issue. STOP-LOSS troops should be compensated if ordered to remain past their original term, not just continue getting normal pay.

This soldier is getting a raw deal and I don't agree with it! If the young man did his service and his time is up, he needs to be let go if he chooses to.

reply to post by rcwj1975


Yeah i agree they just demolished his freedom of speech obviously he was ok with his normal time served i would be pissed to be in-voluntary injected right back in there, wonder how big of a lawsuit this is gonna end up being?

I guess contractual agreements only need to be followed if you are not the government.

When will we ALL wake up to the insanity known as the US government.

Stop Loss, what a frelling sad name for enforced military service beyond the original contractual agreement.

Ok, ok. So his song made him a "perceived threat"? Well they may as well go around and arrest of crap ton of hip hop artists for being "perceived threats." This song is MILD compared to the stuff I have heard broadcasted on the radiowaves.

My favorite line in the whole song: "If I do drugs I get kicked out. But if my time is up I can't get out."

Now I can understand his distress over stop loss, he's ready to be home, but he did sign up for the Army and he is subject to to their rules.

But being unhappy with that does not mean he should get jail time. I don't see how they can be getting away with this. Maybe I'm not up to speed on everything but all things about this scream "wrong" to me!

reply to post by angrymomma


Yeah no doubt the so called threats are everywhere every day. Good to see someone else from Bama too

reply to post by OpTiMuS_PrImE


Isn't it funny how the internet can be such a small world? You figure with the sheer number of people out there on the internet you would never meet someone from your area.

I was stop-lossed in the national guard and passed my ETS date while I was still state-side and in training for Iraq. I watched the sad-sacks get "hurt", their back problems flare up, watched as they got transferred to medical hold while the rest of us went off to do our duty. They were still there when we got back, fat happy and recovering, and not one of them ever got investigated for malingering.

Yet this soldier does everything he's been ordered to do, and gets hammered for a song? Give me a break. This stop-loss policy is hurtful and harmful to soldiers, and it should end. What's wrong with the Army? Where's the SMA on this? Probably can't wait to see this soon-to-be PV1 breaking rocks in Ft. Leavenworth.

The guys in my unit used to kid with the retention NCO that if any of us got STOP-LOSSED, Uncle Sam better have a $100,000 check for me before my new orders come down.

Wonder if the military would be so quick to SL if that kind of arrangment was policy?

reply to post by OpTiMuS_PrImE


$&F! As a stop-lossed soldier myself I know the pain and strain of serving after your contract comes to an end but somehow end up staying. Hopefully he gets out around the same time I do or earlier.

Star and Flag for this one.

Im your typical pacifist anti-war kinda person, who takes a dim view of most people who join the military... but this guy and any others subject to this Stop Loss crud deserves alot better than this rubbish his superiors are giving him, I mean he's effectively being punished for having an opinion and voicing it about something any normal rational human being would also call grossly unfair.

I guess you cant even have one of those (an opinion) in the military, even though you effectively give your life over to the institution, what a reward... damn I hate the war machine.

Dont like soliders, but damn it dont screw em more than they already are.

everyone is forgetting that when you signed that paper you signed your soul to the devil. as for the free speech issue ... even off duty if your still employed (yeah get a load of that ... they say your still employed) you are us govt property and your free speech is null and void.

Not to say the practice of stop loss is right or that the loss of rights while being a lackey is right... but they own you in the service cut and dry

they need to unionize,,,,,, hire that guy fron UAW,,,,, he'd get them a good deal

i can only imagine if my family member was killed after being forced to serve longer than there term

i couldn't even fathom what that would do to me

When you sign up for the military you sign up for 8 years. Sure most people serve 3-4 years, but the obligation is for 8.

I served from 1987 to 1990. Hussein (Saddam...not Obama) invaded Kuwait 3 days after I left Germany. Since I was in Chemical Operations, I just knew I was going to be called back. It didn't happen, but I knew I still had a 5 year obligation and would have went back in no problem.

Nobody is being held past their 8 year obligation. Hope that clears up any misconceptions.

reply to post by conspiracyrus


Please don't say that the army owns you, makes people actually believe that crap. Isn't true. It is true that when you sign up you give up your basic civil rights and are now subject to a whole new set of rules under the UCMJ. So while they might have a technical reason to jail him it is obviously unjust and I hope he gets a judge advocate soon who will work on his behalf.

Sadly this is typical of the way soldiers are treated. You give up your freedoms to serve your country in all good faith and everyone hates you for it. The military may not be subject to many federal laws but they are subject to public opinion and outrage to this type of behavior is the first step to changing it.

reply to post by Carseller4


Yes that is true, but to my understanding, the inactive status of your contract is SUPPOSED to be ONLY if the military numbers are NOT sufficient, if your MOS is short, etc... but what you will find is they are not using that as their reason to STOP-LOSS a troop. They simply now look and try to hold onto those who have the experiance. Numbers do not matter anymore for a STOP-LOSS. Now its the agenda that takes precedence. IMO

WOW, that sucks. Thats some BS that he was jailed for that. Maybe his Army superiors are overly sensitive. If my comrades in arms had gotten brig time whenever they said something was BS there wouldn't be many Marines left...

For anyone who dosn't understand what a preiouse poster said, when you sign up for service you are obligated to serve 8 years(if you are Enlisted anyways.) You spend your 4,5 or however long year contract in active service, then the remaining balance(3 for me, my contract was for 5) is spent in inactive reserve. If your MOS(job code) is not a critical MOS than I don't believe they were allowed to stop-loss ya, but maybe that has changed since I got out in 2008.

I agree that if you are stop-lossed you should get a bonus, same as if you were reenlisting.

reply to post by Histopherness


its pretty simple while employed you cant defame the military or any of its policies... if you do you can receive pay cuts and be jailed... You have no recourse as a soldier. just saying its the truth

This fool brought all of this upon himself. He should have NEVER joined in the first place. He dug his own grave and now they are burying him alive.

[edit on 9-1-2010 by EMPIRE]

From what i've read, he also threatened to kill his senior leadershp as well. Not a real good idea.

Not to hijack the thread, but are any of you Stop Loss'd folks getting the extra $500 a month or whatever it is? It's also retroactive.