V.A. Handing Out Bonuses While Veterans Suffer

[S.J.]

Isn't it great the way we treat our veterans, especially under this administration?

Congress looking into VA bonuses amid agency problems | Fox News

 

[Steven_R]

Bureaucrats gonna bureaucrat.

 

[daveman]

Ain't that some crap. It's not only a slap in the face to veterans, but to other government employees who DIDN'T get the bonus they earned.

I saved the government an estimated $20K by doing work in-house that would have been contracted out before I signed in. I earned an $850 bonus. Didn't get it. No one else in the section got what they earned, either.

 

[rdean]

Is this another GOP witch hunt? Remember, these people blocked first responders at 9/11 from having health care for 10 years and blocked Obama from investigating BP. For them to pretend to care about Veterans is insulting. Veterans make up a significant part of those 4 million whose food stamps were taken away by the GOP. 85% were children, veterans with disabilities and seniors.

 

[S.J.]

Is this another GOP witch hunt? Remember, these people blocked first responders at 9/11 from having health care for 10 years and blocked Obama from investigating BP. For them to pretend to care about Veterans is insulting. Veterans make up a significant part of those 4 million whose food stamps were taken away by the GOP. 85% were children, veterans with disabilities and seniors.

Gimme a break. Obama can't even pronounce the word "Corpsmen". He doesn't give a shit about our veterans, never did.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Isn't it great the way we treat our veterans, especially under this administration?

Congress looking into VA bonuses amid agency problems | Fox News

Yet we spend trillions on stupid filthy wars in the middle east and on the banks.

It's bull shit.

 

[waltky]

Reserve Guard gettin' the shaft...

Army Guard Deployed Thousands While Restricting GI Bill Benefits
Nov 28, 2016 | The Army National Guard deployed thousands of troops on orders restricting accrual of GI Bill benefits during the last two years.

The Army National Guard has deployed thousands of soldiers on orders that restrict accrual of GI Bill benefits during the last two years, more than doubling a recent count across all of the military's reserve components. The Pentagon has used the authorization 4,705 times since 2014, according to data from each reserve component released to Stars and Stripes, including the new count of 2,925 from the Army Guard released Monday by the National Guard Bureau.

The number of troops deployed is likely close to the 4,705 authorizations. Some might have deployed more than once under the authorization, which was first used in 2014. A National Guard Bureau spokeswoman said she was unsure if it was possible to know how many, if any, soldiers deployed more than once under the authorization. Every reserve and guard component of the U.S. military has used Title 10, authorization 12304b -- an authority to mobilize reservists for operations without education benefits that normally accumulate during active duty.

The overall count is more than double the total reported Nov. 25, which did not include data from the Army National Guard. The National Guard Bureau produced its data following the report, which included criticism from reservists, lawmakers and advocacy groups about the growing use of an authorization that strips reservists of benefits like pre- and post-deployment health care and the GI Bill.

Leaders from the Reserve Officers Association, a Washington advocacy group, said the congressional authorization was requested by the Pentagon to scale back spending on benefits while maintaining deployment readiness. Nearly a million reservists have deployed since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Pentagon's Defense Manpower Data Center. The Post-9/11 GI Bill, a benefit paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, is based on a sliding scale of active-duty service since Sept. 11, 2001. Tuition and housing payments increase as active-duty service grows.

Army Guard Deployed Thousands While Restricting GI Bill Benefits | Military.com

See also:

Pentagon Holds Up GI Bill Benefits for Reservists
Nov 28, 2016 | Nearly 300 Marines came home from their seven-month deployment to Central America this week. They have a few things in tow -- wood carvings from local artisans and the grit of experience responding to Hurricane Matthew, among the world's worst recent natural disasters. But the reservists returned without something that most were counting on: seven months of GI Bill benefits.

A relatively new and obscure deployment code, a measure the Pentagon created in 2014 to scale back spending on benefits, is the reason. By law, reservists involuntarily mobilized under Title 10, section 12304b, do not receive credit for the GI Bill while they are activated. The Post-9/11 GI Bill is paid out by the amount of active-duty time racked up. Reservists say deployments are in high demand in part because education benefits will grow much faster than relying on drill time. Nearly a million reservists have deployed since Sept. 11, 2001, according to data from the Pentagon's Defense Manpower Data Center. Marine Sgt. William Hubbard is one of nearly 600 Marine reservists affected since 2014. He deployed to Honduras in May as part of the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, a rapid-response unit based in Honduras to strengthen security in the region and respond to natural disasters, like Hurricane Matthew in October.

His civilian job lends him a special perspective on restricting access to the GI Bill. He is the vice president of government affairs at Student Veterans of America, a national veterans advocacy group that focuses on education policy. Hubbard said fellow Marines in Honduras are stunned as the word has slowly spread through the ranks. Most incorrectly believed they would receive seven to nine months' worth of credit for GI Bill benefits, including Hubbard, a benefits legislation expert. "Reservists serve their country like any other component, and they have to balance civilian employment, education and the military," Hubbard said. "And to say they don't rate the full benefit? It doesn't add up." Every reserve component has used authorization 12304b since its creation; 1,780 reservists from across the military have deployed under the code, according to data from each reserve service branch released to Stars and Stripes.

A military photo illustration depicts a service member studying​

The actual number is certainly higher. That count does not include the Army National Guard. The National Guard Bureau was unable to produce data on mobilizations under that authorization after weeks of requests. The Army Reserves accounted for the largest share with 1,100. The Air National Guard has activated 87 airmen since 2014. The Navy Reserves, with six activations, used authorization 12304b instead of more common authorities to learn its unique procedure and to retain that institutional knowledge, said Cullen James, a Navy Reserves spokesman. James and other Navy spokesmen could not say how the mobilization of individual sailors is made under 12304b, referring questions to Pentagon officials with insight into manpower and personnel staffing issues. Those repeated requests also went unfulfilled.

Capt. Christopher Scholl, director of Navy Reserve public affairs, said sailors are informed the authorization lacks certain benefits when they are mobilized. Susan Lukas, director of legislative and military policy at the Reserve Officers Association, a Washington advocacy group, said Tuesday that she doubted that many reservists are aware of 12304b. "People go into it kind of blind," Lukas said.

Unequal benefits?

 

[BluesLegend]

That's your government services for you, no accountability, no consequences, can't fire the incompetents. This is why we oppose the left's desire for government to take over and run our entire lives.

 

[Clementine]

Isn't it great the way we treat our veterans, especially under this administration?

Congress looking into VA bonuses amid agency problems | Fox News

Usually, bonuses are given for a job well done. In this case, the only thing they did was spend a lot less money to help veterans. Too many veterans are going without what they earned and what they were promised. Making sure that veterans get the care they need is why the VA exists. They got money that should have been spent on care for veterans. This shit needs to change. It's the same with many government bureaucracies. We are spending more to have them exist than to actually do what they are supposed to do.