ABC: Injured Iraq Vets Come Home to Poverty

[RamboLiberal]

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/print?id=163109

Following inquiries by ABC News, the Pentagon has dropped plans to force a severely wounded U.S. soldier to repay his enlistment bonus after injuries had forced him out of the service.

Watch Brian Ross' report on "Primetime Live" tonight at 10 p.m. E.T.

Army Spc. Tyson Johnson III of Mobile, Ala., who lost a kidney in a mortar attack last year in Iraq, was still recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center when he received notice from the Pentagon's own collection agency that he owed more than $2,700 because he could not fulfill his full 36-month tour of duty.

Johnson said the Pentagon listed the bonus on his credit report as an unpaid government loan, making it impossible for him to rent an apartment or obtain credit cards.

"Oh man, I felt betrayed," Johnson said. "I felt, like, oh, my heart dropped."

[ladybugg33]

1. Kerry should be on the stump right now relating this story.

Everyone bombard Matthews and the rest of the talking heads with this story.

[Zinfandel]

5. There is so much of this shit these corporate fascist military republican

assholes pull everyday...they don't mind Halliburton ripping off billions from the American taxpayers (because they are getting a piece of the action)

But let a black wounded soldier named Tyrone try and keep his $2700. bonus and bells and whiles go off and the Pentagons right-wing pigs want to fuck over the poor, (and soldiers are the poor) as getting something, for as they see it, for nothing...

The same with a single mother receiving government help, welfare, the republicans will bitch and scream about a few hundred dollars a month for that woman...yet never blink an eye when corporations receives Corporate Welfare in the forms of subsidies, grants and exploration cost etc. that we middle class and poor taxpaying workers, foot the bill for these corporations.


This is what republicans, all republicans ideology is all about...This why I hate these pigs republicans and have and will continue to spend my life exposing and defeating these greedy, lying motherfuckers!!!

[Bo]

9. Thank You..I hate them as well

[w4rma]

2. Here is the one token wounded soldier they'll prance around showing how

helped someone. Unfortunately I see no work into changing the system so that this isn't happening to other wounded soldiers. For a little bit into the article I had hoped that it would act as a kind of catalyst. But, it's written in a way that is very sycphantic towards the (primarily Republican) politicians who have allowed this to happen and who continue to allow this to happen.

[MADem]

3. EFFIN SOBs

Typical weasels--blame some asshole at DFAS when THIS SHOULD BE CODIFIED INTO LAW. You take a bonus, you get drummed out through NO FAULT of your own, YOU KEEP THE BONUS.

Boy, we can pass tax cuts for the rich in the dead of night. But we can't take care of this? BULLSHIT--a one line change to DOD pay manual is all it takes. They know what they are doing, the sleazy bastards. The false concern, the "Oh, this is TERRIBLE" is just bullshit.

This same shit happened in GW One. They didn't fix it then, either.

Fuckers.

[wackywill]

4. I hope these assholes suffer for eternity

[Digit]

6. And just how much did * cost taxpayers being trained as a pilot??????

Wasn't it a million dollars? We all know he did not fulfill his obligation, either.
My blood pressure is through the roof with this BS, how DARE they do this to soldiers!

[RobinA]

7. Can't These Whiners

just go to community college or something? That should solve all their problems.

[Jacobin]

8. "Support the Troops?"

These fuckers in the government all need a head transplant

[Ezlivin]

10. Have you come to hate those ubiquitous yellow ribbon decals?

Nothing quite like having a commercialized plastic version of a phrase from a 70's pop song come to represent troop support. How much you wanna bet it's made in China?

Here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, they are usually on the back of big black Escalades, Hummers, et al.

Makes my heart swell with pride.

[RamboLiberal]

11. Devastating Report - showed reports from 4 soldiers

3 of the 4 were white. One NG was a former police officer from Alabama. Was to point of almost losing his home. ABC flew him home since he couldn't afford it for a visit. I was wondering if he and his family voted for *.

Soldiers had to just about panhandle to pay travel expenses for their families to visit.

Real kicker was seeing shots of AWOL and Cheney in photo ops with these guys. Yeah, like B&C give a shit.

Of course it was happy endings after Prime Time took it to a 3-star who managed to straighten it all out.

But how many other wounded soldiers are lost in this you're nothing but cannon fodder to be discarded system.

[ochazuke]

12. Correct me if I'm wrong: Brian Ross is a very good journalist

He also goes after lobbyists.