Plot hole: The whole concept of how Brandon was stop-lossed was obviously done to further the plot and in no way is accurate on how a soldier gets stop-lossed in reality. Apparently he returned from Iraq, started out-processing the army a few days later, and was told he was stop-lossed on his ETS date and was going back in a matter of weeks. First of all, no soldier returns from Iraq and gets out a few days later, there are procedures to get out which requires on average ten days to out-process in addition to classes and other things that usually take up to 90 days after return. As for the stop-loss itself, this would never happen in reality because stop-loss is implemented a minimum of 90 days prior to a planned deployment. No soldier would have been told "Surprise! You're stop-lossed and leaving for Iraq next week!" The shortest break between tours since we went into Iraq was nine months when 3/1 AD came back from Iraq in April 2004 and deployed again in January 2005. No unit came back from a year in Iraq and was sent to Iraq again in only two months for another year, no matter what the anti-war protesters want you to think. If you can forget those blatant oversights by the writer, then when (SPOILER ALERT) Brandon returned at the end to deploy after all he wouldn't have just been let back in with open arms by the chain of command. Considering the charges he would have received (Disrespect to a Commissioned Officer, Disobeying a Lawful Order from a Commissioned Officer, Assault, and Absent without Leave), he would have at a minimum have been reduced to E-5. More than likely, instead of deploying, he would have faced court-martial or been discharged, a process that would have taken a lot longer than a few weeks. A Lieutenant Colonel wouldn't have been able to save him from the charges at that point like claimed in the deal he would give Brandon for returning to base. Obvious facts about the actual process of stop-loss were either not researched or were blatantly ignored to further an anti-war agenda from the writer of the movie. Submitted by AD