Thousands of CA soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after war

[ShootSpeeders]

Typical democrat behavior. Give away free money and let somebody else clean up the mess ten years later.

Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war

oct 22 2016 Short of troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, the California National Guard enticed thousands of soldiers with bonuses of $15,000 or more to reenlist and go to war.

Now the Pentagon is demanding the money back.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom served multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay large enlistment bonuses — and slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse — after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.

Investigations have determined that lack of oversight allowed for widespread fraud and mismanagement by California Guard officials under pressure to meet enlistment targets.

But soldiers say the military is reneging on 10-year-old agreements and imposing severe financial hardship on veterans whose only mistake was to accept bonuses offered when the Pentagon needed to fill the ranks.

 

[waltky]

Granny says dat stinketh.

 

[Bleipriester]

Incredible!

 

[longknife]

This didn't come from the state of California. It came from DOD - the Pentagon. Defense Finance and Accounting Service is the one taking the money back according to some rules discovered by unnamed and faceless bureaucrats.
Yes, they served in the California National Guard but when it was FEDERALIZED.

I am certain that members of Congress, pressured by an outraged public, will come up with legislation to put an end to this and pay back what has been taken away.

 

[longknife]

Just saw the House Majority Leader (can't remember his name) on Fox&Friends. Said that he and "several colleagues" sent a letter to DOD requesting they stop taking back the money until Congress can act on it when they return to work Nov 17th. Let's see what happens.

 

[waltky]

Pentagon doesn't know how big the problem is...

Guard, Pentagon Cannot Say How Many US Soldiers Must Repay Bonuses
Oct 29, 2016 | The National Guard and Pentagon on Friday still could not say how many soldiers in the United States might have their wartime re-enlistment bonuses reclaimed, despite stating days ago that cases outside of California only number "in the dozens."

A Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department had not finished compiling the figures from all states and territories. The chief of the National Guard Bureau, which promised Wednesday to release the number of affected soldiers to Stars and Stripes, said Friday that it was still working to compile the information. Both have said the efforts to recollect bonuses of $15,000 or more and education benefits from soldiers are mostly confined to California. The Army National Guard caused public outrage earlier this week when reports revealed it might reclaim the re-enlistment bonuses of nearly 10,000 soldiers from California who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 100 House members wrote a letter Wednesday saying the National Guard has confirmed bonus overpayments occurred in every U.S. state and called for legislation to provide relief.

Peter Levine, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said Wednesday the number of cases in other states are "in the dozens" but did not specify how many states. "This is a California problem for us," he said. The Pentagon on Friday could not immediately reconcile Levine's comment with its lack of specific numbers. The National Guard Bureau told Stars and Stripes on Friday that it had reviewed a statistical sampling of 9,641 cases of bonus payments across the country but did not have additional statistics of how many included fraudulent or wrongly awarded bonuses or benefits. "The issues found were administrative in nature and rapidly remedied by the state," according to Maj. Shannon Thomas, a Guard spokeswoman.

California National Guard soldiers take a last look at Iraq while flying out of the country on a Navy MH-53E "Black Stallion" helicopter​

Thomas said the service needs more time to compile figures showing wrongly paid bonuses and how many soldiers face collections. Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said Wednesday the service examined the bonuses in every state and had determined the number of incorrect payments was small. "I can tell you they did look at every state ... they did find some contracts were dispersed erroneously. There were small numbers and I can get you those numbers," Lengyel told Stars and Stripes.

A National Guard spokeswoman said Friday it still had not compiled the figures for release. The Pentagon on Wednesday temporarily halted the repayment of bonuses for California National Guard soldiers after outcry from veterans groups and Congress. The bonuses and education benefits were aimed at bolstering troop numbers during the wars. Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered a review of the repayments by January and said he wants all California cases resolved by July.

Guard, Pentagon Cannot Say How Many US Soldiers Must Repay Bonuses | Military.com

 

[waltky]

When all else fails, Army takin' bad bookkeepin' out onna troops...

Army Quick to Make Troops Pay for Bad Bookkeeping, Soldiers Say
Oct 30, 2016 | California National Guard Staff Sgt. Tony Priestley is about to retire from an Army career that has spanned nearly three decades.

After three tours in Iraq and 29 years of service, both active and Guard, the Army wants him to pay back a $14,000 re-enlistment bonus he received 10 years ago. The war in Iraq was raging in March 2006, and the Guard needed soldiers. So Priestley extended his career, which began in 1987, for another six years and collected his first incentive bonus. "I had just come back from my second tour in Iraq. ... If I wasn't able to receive a bonus, I still would have done an extension, Priestley said. "I always wanted to be a soldier my whole life."

A National Guardsman scans a mountain range while searching a village in Patwan Province, Afghanistan, in 2013. Thousands of Guardsmen who deployed there and in Iraq have been ordered to pay back their re-enlistment bonuses.​

A decade later, the California National Guard notified Priestley that he had violated the terms of his bonus by going on Active Guard Reserve status in August 2006. "There was not a six-month break between March and August," Priestley said. "By regulation, it's a violation. Nobody caught it in 2006. When I read it now -- the addendum to the attachment of the extension -- it says that pretty clearly. "When I signed ... I guess maybe I was excited it was the first time I received a bonus. ... All I can say is that now that I know, by all rights I'm wrong, but I mean, Jesus Christ, to find out 10 years later ... I didn't maliciously do it. It was just an error."

Priestley is one of about 10,500 service members, mostly from the California National Guard, who improperly received bonuses of as much as $15,000 and other incentives to serve in the ranks a decade ago during the peak of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of troops have been ordered to pay back the money or face such penalties as interest charges and tax liens. The White House has ordered a review of the matter, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter directed the Defense Department to suspend the collection of bonuses.

A Widespread Problem

 

[rdean]

Typical democrat behavior. Give away free money and let somebody else clean up the mess ten years later.

Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war

oct 22 2016 Short of troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, the California National Guard enticed thousands of soldiers with bonuses of $15,000 or more to reenlist and go to war.

Now the Pentagon is demanding the money back.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom served multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay large enlistment bonuses — and slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse — after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.

Investigations have determined that lack of oversight allowed for widespread fraud and mismanagement by California Guard officials under pressure to meet enlistment targets.

But soldiers say the military is reneging on 10-year-old agreements and imposing severe financial hardship on veterans whose only mistake was to accept bonuses offered when the Pentagon needed to fill the ranks.

This happened in 2006 nitwit.

The Gov of California - Republican

The President - Republican

The Senate - Republican

The House - Republican

The Supreme Court -- Republican

So yes, another GOP fuck up they expect Democrats to fix. Typical.

 

[Old Rocks]

A business screws up and puts a wrong price in an ad, they must honor it. The Army screwed up with it's ad, it should have to honor it, especially since those soldiers already served the agreed on time. All Dems and Repubs should tell the Army to honor it's bargain.