Sildiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses.
Soldiers Struggling to Repay Enlistment Bonuses Issued in Error
After 21 years in the military, three deployments, and a roadside bomb blast that left him bleeding and unconscious, Christopher Van Meter got a letter from the Pentagon saying he improperly received enlistment bonuses and now owed the government $46,000.
The military has long paid re-enlistment bonuses and given other incentives, like repayment of college loans, to keep highly trained and desirable personnel in the service. The practice accelerated during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget for re-enlistment incentives nearly doubled between 2000 and 2008 to $1.4 billion according to the RAND Corporation.
During that time, the California Guard held seminars where troops filed through an assembly line-style re-enlistment process. The re-enlistments was overseen by a master sergeant named Toni L. Jaffe of Citrus Heights, Calif., who lavished troops with bonuses and forgiveness of student loans. A federal inquiry in 2010 estimated that as much as $100 million in improper bonuses might have been paid. The Guard says that total is closer to $70 million. Ms. Jaffe, who has since left the military, pleaded guilty in 2012 to approving more than $15 million in fraudulent claims.
The case sparked a detailed review of the re-enlistment program, with dozens of auditors combing through the 35,000 records.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/us/national-guard-bonuses-california.html
These soldiers shouldn't have to repay this $$. Hang the Sergent who signed the orders! Those guys didn't do anything wrong.
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