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Report: California soldiers must repay enlistment bonuses

Dittohead not!

Dittohead not!

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[h=1]Report: California soldiers must repay enlistment bonuses[/h]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers have been ordered to repay huge enlistment bonuses a decade after signing up to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The Pentagon demanded the money back after audits revealed overpayments by the California Guard under pressure to fill ranks and hit enlistment goals. If soldiers refuse, they could face interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens, the Los Angeles Times (Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war - LA Times ) said.
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That's outrageous.

IMO, that is.
 
Considering all the things this state wastes money on, I don't think this ranks anywhere near the top.
 
foadi said:
You have to admit, this is pretty funny.
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Funny that ordinary Americans who served their country and accepted enlistment bonuses in good faith years ago now have to pay them back?

I find it less than amusing.
 
Dittohead not! said:
[h=1]Report: California soldiers must repay enlistment bonuses[/h]


That's outrageous.

IMO, that is.
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Long response:

The feds created both the recruitment goals and the incentive pay. The state gave the money away to meet the fed goals. The state and feds should share any cost recovery for mistakes they may have made, and leave the members of the military alone - who put THEIR lives on the line and fulfilled THEIR end of the damned agreement. Let the government keep their promises and if the state made a mistake, they can pay back half to the feds and the feds can just eat the remainder.

Short response:

Just another example of the military member getting screwed by the government - and this is the same government that some want to be put in charge of everything else, including single payer healthcare. Right.
 
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I'm assuming the illegal immigrants will still get world class free healthcare at the state's hospitals though right?
 
ajn678 said:
I'm assuming the illegal immigrants will still get world class free healthcare at the state's hospitals though right?
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That's a silly assumption that has nothing to do with the soldiers having to pay back their enlistment bonuses.
 
Dittohead not! said:
That's a silly assumption that has nothing to do with the soldiers having to pay back their enlistment bonuses.
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It has plenty to do with this actually.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Funny that ordinary Americans who served their country and accepted enlistment bonuses in good faith years ago now have to pay them back?

I find it less than amusing.
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No, funny that someone was dumb enough to think it was a good idea to demand repayment from reservists. This is going to be a media ****storm if the story gains traction. Obviously not funny for the soldiers.
 
foadi said:
No, funny that someone was dumb enough to think it was a good idea to demand repayment from reservists. This is going to be a media ****storm if the story gains traction. Obviously not funny for the soldiers.
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Nobody, but no body will own up to having made this absurd decision. Maybe someone will step forward and reverse it, though.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Nobody, but no body will own up to having made this absurd decision. Maybe someone will step forward and reverse it, though.
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If I may...those who see this might consider posting on their Facebook pages and asking friends to share. Certainly social media must be good for something besides selfies.
 
MaggieD said:
If I may...those who see this might consider posting on their Facebook pages and asking friends to share. Certainly social media must be good for something besides selfies.
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Good idea.
 
MaggieD said:
It is a disgrace. We should be ashamed if our government.

NOT ONE GVMT EMPLOYEE WILL LOSE THEIR JOB FOR THIS FIASCO. YET THOUSANDS OF MEN WILL BE FINANCIALLY RUINED.

Disgusting. Outrageous. Disgraceful. Take your pick.
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I pick all three.

I have already shared it on Facebook this morning, but no one has commented or even liked it.
 
Beaudreaux said:
Long response:

The feds created both the recruitment goals and the incentive pay. The state gave the money away to meet the fed goals. The state and feds should share any cost recovery for mistakes they may have made, and leave the members of the military alone - who put THEIR lives on the line and fulfilled THEIR end of the damned agreement. Let the government keep their promises and if the state made a mistake, they can pay back half to the feds and the feds can just eat the remainder.

Short response:

Just another example of the military member getting screwed by the government - and this is the same government that some want to be put in charge of everything else, including single payer healthcare. Right.
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That's the thing... the recruits were made an official offer, and they held up their end of the bargain.
 
This is beyond terrible, all the wrong people are being harmed.
 
I know I am going to get a lot of flak for this, but I am going to play devils advocate here.

The government obviously made a mistake and failed to fix it for ten years. I understand that people are outraged that millitary men are paying the consequences of a government screw-up. bur why is government being blamed for trying to correct the mistake by asking for the money to be repayed
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
I know I am going to get a lot of flak for this, but I am going to play devils advocate here.

The government obviously made a mistake and failed to fix it for ten years. I understand that people are outraged that millitary men are paying the consequences of a government screw-up. bur why is government being blamed for trying to correct the mistake by asking for the money to be repayed
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The government screwed up by believing the Gulf of Tonkein incident actually happened, and half a million soldiers paid the price of that screw up.

The government screwed up by invading a secular state in the name of fighting Islamic Jihad, and more soldiers paid the price.

This time, the government could fix things by simply admitting it was wrong and forgiving the soldiers their debt. They've already paid enough, it seems to me.
 
Beaudreaux said:
Long response:

The feds created both the recruitment goals and the incentive pay. The state gave the money away to meet the fed goals. The state and feds should share any cost recovery for mistakes they may have made, and leave the members of the military alone - who put THEIR lives on the line and fulfilled THEIR end of the damned agreement. Let the government keep their promises and if the state made a mistake, they can pay back half to the feds and the feds can just eat the remainder.

Short response:

Just another example of the military member getting screwed by the government - and this is the same government that some want to be put in charge of everything else, including single payer healthcare. Right.
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Exactly. The Guard screwed up. The Guard should have to pay.

Just take it out of their budget, for God's sakes. It'll be a "drop in the bucket" by Government standards.

Going after everyday Soldiers over this makes no sense whatsoever.
 
The US has $1.5 billion to give to Pakistan every year, and they don't even like us. So, it seems we have our priorities straight as a nation.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
I know I am going to get a lot of flak for this, but I am going to play devils advocate here.

The government obviously made a mistake and failed to fix it for ten years. I understand that people are outraged that millitary men are paying the consequences of a government screw-up. bur why is government being blamed for trying to correct the mistake by asking for the money to be repayed
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First off, these veterans are being charged interest on this money.
 
Dittohead not! said:
The government screwed up by believing the Gulf of Tonkein incident actually happened, and half a million soldiers paid the price of that screw up.

The government screwed up by invading a secular state in the name of fighting Islamic Jihad, and more soldiers paid the price.

This time, the government could fix things by simply admitting it was wrong and forgiving the soldiers their debt. They've already paid enough, it seems to me.
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The same thing happened after Desert Storm; not sure if it was bonus payments, or over-payments of some other sort.

After it became public, the DOD dropped the issue. I imagine the same thing will happen here. It should, anyway.
 
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