Often during wartime, The U.S. Military offers monetary bonuses to those who sign up to serve. This occurred at high rates during the conflicts in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Millions of dollars in bonuses were given to men and women who joined the Military, and now, the Military is asking for it back.
The victim's of this named "clawback" are National Guardsmen, all who hail from California. The bonuses were given largely in the early 2000s, and for some, were thousands of dollars. Of course, as this money was given to the Guardsmen upon enlistment, it may not be so easy for many of them to pay back.
Upon news of the National Guard's demand, California Senators and Representatives spoke out, many with anger. The issue has caused Congress members from both parties to promise Congressional action against the National Guard Bureau, the organization behind the repayment demand. California Representatives and Senators want the Bureau to release an official statement explaining their actions.
The Pentagon has said that if a veteran so chooses, he or she can fill out an appeal, which if approved, will allow the "fee" to be waived. However, appeals will be evaluated on a one-by-one basis, and until an appeal is approved, the veteran faces indictment.
In addition to the forced repayment of the enlistment bonuses, many veterans are being asked to repay the National Guard for their college education, a benefit given by the National Guard. Between the bonuses and college tuition, many veterans are looking at repaying up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For any middle-class American, but especially low-payed Military personnel, this amount of cash is likely, not easy to pay. Some veterans have spoken out, with a combination of disbelief and distress, wondering where they will get the money to repay the National Guard.
It is likely that the bonuses the now-veterans received were a result of in-house paperwork mismanagement. The bonuses were given out by the Guard believing that they had been worked into their budget. However, this was not the case, and the National Guard's deficit is so large, they feel as if they have no choice but to ask for the past spent money back.
After so much negative attention, Defense Secretary, Democrat Ash Carter, has suspended all repayments, saying he doesn't want people to lose faith in the U.S. Military.
However, this is not a solution, but rather a way to tame the fire that up until now, Carter has allowed to destroy his own. The general, bi-partisan consensus is that this forced repayment is completely unacceptable, and we, as Americans, can stand by our Veterans, showing our thanks for their sacrifice.
