Defense Secretary suspends Pentagon’s demand that soldiers repay bonuses
The Defense Secretary for the Obama administration, faced with a political uproar over the Pentagon’s aggressive efforts to recover bonuses given incorrectly to soldiers a decade ago, has suspended the recovery program.
Don’t worry. There will soon be another story about some equally horrible government corruption that abuses innocent American citizens. The well of the government is deep, and its ability to do harm is quite endless.
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The Defense Secretary for the Obama administration, faced with a political uproar over the Pentagon’s aggressive efforts to recover bonuses given incorrectly to soldiers a decade ago, has suspended the recovery program.
Don’t worry. There will soon be another story about some equally horrible government corruption that abuses innocent American citizens. The well of the government is deep, and its ability to do harm is quite endless.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
We have to keep in mind that the effects of this one are over; the bureaucracy will be slow to react and when it does, it will come out in weird ways.
In the meantime, credit ratings have been ruined, houses have been sold to pay back the government, and people have gone deeper into debt trying to pay back. Who’s going to pay for all the extra interest they have been paying due to new debts and lower credit ratings?
And that’s not even getting into the emotional turmoil all this has caused.
I am Retired Army. Sometimes you have to first step back and take a deep breath – then review the issue/story.
Something is seriously wrong here behind the scenes.
A multi-million retention/re-enlistment program (funded by DOD) than is totally exclusive to the California National Guard????
Federal funds given to a State (California) agency with no Fed oversight or directive on use?????
A retention/re-enlistment program that appears targeted to senior personnel (NCOs and Officers) where quite a few appear to be reaching (or have reached) their 20th year (eligible for retirement).?????
No indication that these bonuses are tied to any actual critical Tech MOS – just apparently warm bodies.???????
In my career, I received a total of 32K in bonuses.
Availability of retention bonuses usually ends around your 12th to 14th year – logic is your are on the road to being a “lifer” with a commitment to the pension – no further incentives necessary.
Exception being “critical skills” – usually (but not always) highly technical, where “experience” is not readily replaceable.
Little info on this story is actually available. All we have gotten is the teary eyed sob story stuff. This could just as well be a deliberate ploy to take everyone’s eye off the money trail. Something’s wrong here. I have seen deliberate fraud and skimming in the past – especially with bonuses and student loan programs.
We are soldiers – not angels – Remember – this concerns solely California.
Could say much more – especially concerning the AGR – who are technically State Employees paid by funding from the Fed/DOD.
You’re right, hondo, there probably is more going on than meets the eye here. If I were to guess, I would say that the people handling the re-enlistment bonuses (in the Marines we called them career planners, I’m not sure of the term the Army uses) were probably the main perpetrators.
I think the recipients of the bonuses should not be asked to return the money until there is solid evidence that they did something wrong.
This started with the California National Guard, but I heard on the radio that it’s since cropped up elsewhere.
I’m not familiar with the money flows with the National Guard, but it wouldn’t surprise me if somehow this is related to shortages if money elsewhere in the National Guard. At my level funds were very segregated, but the higher ups often have ways to transfer funds between accounts.
Garry/Hondo:
Good points from both.
— from the un-attributed FOX news article:
“A federal investigation in 2010 found thousands of bonuses and student loan payments were improperly doled out to California Guard soldiers. About 9,700 current and retired soldiers received notices to repay some or all of their bonuses with more than $22 million recovered so far.”
That investigation was 6 years ago. These type of things are generally handled by an Inspector General, although Obama has refused to fully appoint & staff numerous IG office’s in the Fed structure. (and the Senate didn’t & doesn’t care, they let the executive branch do whatever they wanted.)
–If somebody has the time & inclination, finding that report would be enlightening.
Just thinking out loud– that time period there was $700 billion in “stimulus money” being forced into the word (above & beyond already budgeted funds.)— where & to whom all that money went– we will never know, and I mean never ever.
(In my area– Local & State government payrolls jumped for 4 straight years, pension funds were shored up, and a gazillion “non-profits” were funded with Federal largess to undertake all this social-engineering and cronyism.)
Some more details on this whole fiasco.
Appears to be a combination of fraud & mismanagement (at a level above the soldiers,) and the Feds have been on to this since before 2010, but they let the claw-back & harassment continue right up until now.
This whole mess bears continued monitoring.
http://www.marklevinshow.com/news/california-guard-vets-bonus-fiasco-months-of-uncertainty-ahead/