Carter suspends Pentagon’s demand of the return of cash
bonuses to California soldiers, 10/26/16, Fox News
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Wednesday that
he was ordering the Pentagon to suspend its efforts to recover decade-old
reenlistment bonuses paid to thousands of California Army National Guard
soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
About 2,000 soldiers were recently told they had to repay
the cash bonuses that, in some cases, amounted to $15,000 or more.
Carter said there was a process in place to assist
soldiers who sought relief of such obligations, and in this case, “hundreds” of
Guard members have already sought and have been granted relief.
“But that process has simply moved too slowly and in some
cases imposed unreasonable burdens on service members,” Carter said. “That is unacceptable.”
He did not mention any timeframe for the suspension, but
he insisted that it would be in place until he was “satisfied that our process
is working effectively.”
Faced with a shortage of troops at the height of the two
wars, California Guard officials offered bonuses of $15,000 or more for
soldiers to reenlist.
A federal investigation in 2010 found thousands of
bonuses and student loan payments were improperly doled out to California Guard
soldiers. About 9,700 current and retired soldiers received notices to repay
some or all of their bonuses with more than $22 million recovered so far.
Soldiers said they felt betrayed at having to repay the
money. "These bonuses were used to keep people in,"
said Christopher Van Meter, a 42-year-old former Army captain and Iraq veteran
who was awarded a Purple Heart. "People like me just got screwed." Van Meter said he refinanced his home mortgage to repay
$25,000 in reenlistment bonuses and $21,000 in student loan repayments that the
military says was improperly given to him.
The California Guard said it had to follow the law and
collect the money. "At the end of the day, the soldiers ended up paying
the largest price," Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, deputy commander of the
California Guard, told the Los Angeles Times. "We'd be more than happy to absolve these people
of their debts. We just can't do it. We'd be breaking the law."
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