You may have the read the national news story about how the California National Guard is requiring veterans to repay signing bonuses they were given years ago when the Guard was trying to keep service members from retiring. Syndicated morning hosts Armstrong & Getty are asking their listeners to help those veterans by signing a WhiteHouse.gov petition to force the government to forgive the debts.
“We are outraged. Our listeners are outraged,” said Jack Armstrong, co-host of Armstrong & Getty. “We are going to get something done about this. The United States cannot mistreat our veterans like this.” Co-host Joe Getty added, “It’s time that the bureaucrats and politicians honor our promises to our vets and honor the will of the people. And it’s absolutely indisputable that these vets not get screwed. We are going to hold the politicians’ feet to the fire.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that over 9,700 National Guard combat veterans, many of whom have served multiple combat tours, are being forced to pay back their re-enlistment bonuses. In addition, soldiers and veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan must repay bonuses of $15,000 or more that they were given to re-enlist at a time when the Pentagon was short of combat troops. A Pentagon investigation says the California National Guard paid bonuses to troops who weren’t eligible, in their haste to fill enlistment quotas.
