Who Gives National Guard Families Back What Their Service Cost Them?

Military family: Enlistment bonus fiasco 'depleted our savings'
CNN
By Holly Yan and Curt Devine
October 25, 2016

In 2006, at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Pentagon enticed soldiers to reenlist by offering hefty bonuses. Haley and Van Meter both accepted $15,000 bonuses to extend their service.

(CNN)Master Sgt. Susan Haley's family is the epitome of military sacrifice. She's a 24-year veteran. Her husband served for 26 years. Their son lost his leg serving in Afghanistan.

But now, the California National Guard is demanding more sacrifices from her -- to the tune of $650 a month.

"$650 is a quarter of our monthly income. And you just can't all of a sudden come up with that money," Haley told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday. "We have depleted our savings."

Haley is one of thousands of veterans being forced to repay millions of dollars in reenlistment bonuses after the California National Guard awarded the bonuses in error. Years later, officials realized many of the veterans were not actually eligible for the bonuses and said they wanted that money back -- with interest.
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Congress Knew Two Years Ago About National Guardsmen Bonus, Did Nothing For Them

Congress knew for at least two years about Pentagon efforts to take back bonuses from veterans
LA Times
David S. Cloud and Sarah D. Wire
October 24, 2016

The California National Guard told the state’s members of Congress two years ago that the Pentagon was trying to claw back reenlistment bonuses from thousands of soldiers, and even offered a proposal to mitigate the problem, but Congress took no action, according to a senior National Guard official.

The official added that improper bonuses had been paid to National Guard members in every state, raising the possibility that many more soldiers may owe large debts to the Pentagon.

“This is a national issue and affects all states,” Andreas Mueller, the chief of federal policy for the California Guard, wrote in an email to the state’s congressional delegation Monday. Attention had focused on California because it was “the only state that audited” bonus payments at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he added.

In the email, Mueller reminded members of Congress that the Guard had informed them about the issue two years ago. Whether members of Congress understood the scope of the problem at the time is unclear.
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Ohio Gulf War veterans face clock running out on $1,500 money for them

Ohio veterans face Tuesday deadline for bonuses
WBNS News 10
Saturday December 28, 2013

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Military veterans who served during the Persian Gulf War era have until Tuesday to claim Ohio bonuses of up to $1,500.

Ohio voters in 2009 approved a $200 million bond issue to fund bonuses for veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq war eras. Iraq War veterans have another year, until Dec. 31, 2014, to apply. No deadline has been announced for Afghanistan War and all veterans who served after Oct. 7, 2001.
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Lawmakers question $30K bonuses for VA execs

Lawmakers question $30K bonuses for VA execs

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 23, 2009 13:17:19 EDT

Voters and veterans won’t understand if the Veterans Affairs Department pays big performance and retention bonuses to its workers, members of a House subcommittee said Wednesday.

At a hearing that focused on a VA inspector general investigation into misuse of retention bonuses in the VA’s information and technology division and into plans for 2009 senior executive service bonuses, lawmakers urged VA officials to make sure extra pay is kept to a reasonable amount and is paid based on performance directly tied to helping veterans.

Deputy VA Secretary W. Scott Gould said revised rules for awarding executive bonuses cap payments at $30,000, lower than previous years.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/military_VA_bonuses_092309w/

If you repaid "bonus" money DOD needs to give it back

Great news for the wounded who already had to pay back their money! Thousands of them should not have had to pay one dime back but they all got letters just like Fox did.

DoD: No repaying bonuses for wounded
Staff and wire reportsPosted : Tuesday Nov 27, 2007 12:53:38 EST

If you are wounded in combat and discharged as a result, you will not have to pay back your enlistment bonus, Defense Department officials said Monday.

“Bonuses are not recouped simply for one’s inability to complete an enlistment or re-enlistment agreement through no fault of the military member,” according to a policy statement cited in an American Forces Press Service story.

The policy statement was issued one day after Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., held a press conference criticizing the Pentagon for dunning wounded troops to pay back their bonuses, a practice the senator said affected hundreds.

He said that when the case of Pfc. Jordan Fox, an Army sniper partially blinded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, was called to the Pentagon’s attention, officials replied that the demand for him to repay $2,800 was a “clerical error” and canceled the debt. But what about the others, he asked, standing in front of a World War I memorial.

“When you talk to the Pentagon, you get different answers from different people,” he said.
Schumer called on the Defense Department to conduct an internal investigation and audit to identify recently wounded personnel who received the dunning letters and assure them that repayments were not necessary.

He also said he would support proposed legislation, to be called the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act, to require full payment of bonuses to enlistees within 30 days of discharge from the service due to combat-related injuries.

The statement came after Fox appeared on local and national TV and radio shows to talk about the letter.

Fox, 21, from Mount Lebanon, Pa., was partially blinded in his right eye and sustained a back injury in a roadside bomb explosion in Baqubah in May. He returned to the U.S. two months later and received a discharge.

In late October, Fox got a letter from the Army seeking repayment of part of his enlistment bonus because he had only completed about a year of his three-year service.

Another letter arrived a week later warning he could be charged interest if he didn’t make a payment within 30 days.

“I was just completely shocked,” Fox said. “I couldn’t believe I’d gotten a bill in the mail from the Army.”

“Department policy prohibits recoupment when it would be contrary to equity and good conscience, or would be contrary to the nation’s interests,” according to the Defense Department policy statement. “Those circumstances include, for example, an inability to complete a service agreement because of illness, injury, disability or other impairment that did not clearly result from misconduct.”

According to the DoD story, Army officials said Fox will not be required to pay back any enlistment money he received.

Anyone who does have an issue can call the Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline at (800) 984-8523.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/military_payback_bonus_071127w/

Now if they will do something about the wounded who had to pay for their meals and lost equipment, they will be on the right track of doing the right thing.