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UPDATE: Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back

UPDATE AT BOTTOM.

This is absolutely disgraceful, and it cannot be allowed to stand!  From Will Amos:

The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.

Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.

One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills.

He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq.

It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.

Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.

A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.

“I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they’re telling me they want their money back,” he explained.

It’s a slap for Fox’s mother, Susan Wardezak, who met with President Bush in Pittsburgh last May. He thanked her for starting Operation Pittsburgh Pride which has sent approximately 4,000 care packages.

He then sent her a letter expressing his concern over her son’s injuries, so she cannot understand the U.S. Government’s apparent lack of concern over injuries to countless U.S. Soldiers and demands that they return their bonuses.

While he’s unsure of his future, Fox says he’s unwavering in his commitment to his country.

“I’d do it all over again cause I’m proud of the discipline I learned – proud I could so something for my country,” he said.

But Fox feels like he’s already given enough. He’ll never be able to pursue his dream of being a police officer because of his wounds and he can’t believe he’s being asked to return part of his $10,000 signing bonus.

KDKA contacted Congressman Jason Altmire on his behalf. He says he has proposed a bill that would guarantee soldiers receive full benefit of bonuses. 

I don’t know whose idea it was to try and collect money from wounded soldiers, but I hope they get the public shaming they deserve.  Collecting from people who willingly abandon their military commitment is perfectly acceptable, but collecting from people who, as a result of combat into which they were ordered, can no longer serve is absolutely disgusting! I fully support Democrat Congressman Jason Altmire’s bill to stop this shameful process dead in its tracks.

UPDATE (11/21/2007 – 6:41 p.m. EST): The Pentagon is reversing course and doing damage control.

November 21, 2007 - Posted by crushliberalism | shameful

15 Comments »

  1. That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard of! SHAME on them.

    The way we treat them sometimes, we’re bloody lucky we have brave men and women still willing to sign up for service.

    Well done for posting this and making people aware of this travesty.

    Comment by Roland Hulme | November 20, 2007

  2. Well I guess he’s the one democrat I have to give kudos to for having compassion and starting a bill to protect the troops from such abuse!
    I find what’s happening to the soldiers who were injured as a result of combat to be despicable.

    The military shouldn’t be all that surprised when people are avoiding the military like the plague.

    Comment by Chilerkle | November 20, 2007

  3. Welcome, Roland. Nice to have you here! :)

    I’m as outraged as you are, Chilerkle.

    Comment by crushliberalism | November 20, 2007

  4. Under normal circumstances. I avoid watching CNN (except for Glen Beck) but last Saturday evening, they had an hour on how badly the VA is treating our wounded warriors. This bonus situation is just another example of some “inside the beltway” bureaucrat (who in all likelihood has never been outside of DC) sitting on their fat ass in a cubicle thinking they are doing the Nations business.

    Comment by Lee | November 20, 2007

  5. Color me cynical, but I think there is much more to this story than we are getting right now. So far, KDKA seems to be the only source reporting this. As for Congressman Jason Altmire, I sincerely wonder if he would present this bill if the President had the letter “d” affiliated with his (ugh, or her) politics. There must be more to this story.

    To my knowledge, the military doesn’t just release you from duty because of injury. There are a gazillion desk jobs that need to be filled, and I have to believe that either (a) there’s more to Jordan Fox’s story or (b) this is a clerical error. Nonetheless, at face value this is an obviously horrible situation that should be rectified. Just the same, at face value it doesn’t seem to make a whole bunch of sense.

    The fact that I can’t seem to find any information on it past the local Pennsylvania report and blogger opinion pieces makes me think that there’s a significant portion of this story missing. One guarantee is that if anyone in the current administration is to blame for the story at face value, we’d be seeing and hearing a whole bunch more about it.

    Comment by TheBad | November 20, 2007

  6. unbelievable!

    let me know if you find out who exactly is responsible for this.

    Comment by Opinionnation | November 20, 2007

  7. Just for the record, Fox News is reporting:

    This morning FOX News was told that this request was a mistake and that any one receiving similar requests, or having any difficulty with their bonuses are asked to call: 1-800-984-8523.
    ______________-

    So, one soldier getting a letter has turned into “thousands” and “Pentagon demanding”….according to the lefty press. That’s what is disgraceful – playing gotcha politics with our soldiers again.

    I’m not referring to this website – but the skanky lefty ones.

    Comment by LeAnn | November 21, 2007

  8. Your comment came just as I was updating, LeAnn. Good timing! :)

    I’m not referring to this website – but the skanky lefty ones.

    Isn’t “skanky lefty” site redundant? ;) Besides, I’d like to think of my blog as a “skanky righty” site! :-D

    Comment by crushliberalism | November 21, 2007

  9. Nothing skanky here….yet. But..I just found the place, so there’s hope! lol

    I like this joint. It’s small and cozy. Kinda quaint. No smell from the BDS. yea, I like that the best.

    Comment by LeAnn | November 21, 2007

  10. Nothing skanky here….yet. But..I just found the place, so there’s hope!

    Indeed there is!

    I like this joint. It’s small and cozy. Kinda quaint.

    Thank you, ma’am. :)

    No smell from the BDS. yea, I like that the best.

    Oh, we get some occasional moonbat guano every once in a while. I try to clean it up as best as possible! :-D

    Comment by crushliberalism | November 21, 2007

  11. Computer glitch??? Yeah, right! I’m still going with the fat ass in the DC cubicle making those decisions.

    Hopefully the General will offer them some “guidance”.

    Comment by Lee | November 21, 2007

  12. PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.
    To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.

    Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.

    One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills.

    He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq. It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.

    Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.

    A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.

    “I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they’re telling me they want their money back,” he explained.

    It’s a slap for Fox’s mother, Susan Wardezak, who met with President Bush in Pittsburgh last May. He thanked her for starting Operation Pittsburgh Pride which has sent approximately 4,000 care packages.

    He then sent her a letter expressing his concern over her son’s injuries, so she cannot understand the U.S. Government’s apparent lack of concern over injuries to countless U.S. Soldiers and demands that they return their bonuses.

    While he’s unsure of his future, Fox says he’s unwavering in his commitment to his country.

    “I’d do it all over again… because I’m proud of the discipline that I learned. I’m proud to have done something for my country,” he said.

    But Fox feels like he’s already given enough. He’ll never be able to pursue his dream of being a police officer because of his wounds and he can’t believe he’s being asked to return part of his $10,000 signing bonus.

    KDKA contacted Congressman Jason Altmire on his behalf. He says he has proposed a bill that would guarantee soldiers receive full benefit of bonuses.
    _______________________

    …and in another related story, also from an Honorably Discharged soldier from Pittsburgh…the same thing happened earlier this year in, or around February 07….

    PITTSBURGH — Soldiers who were paralyzed, suffered brain damage and lost limbs owe the government enlistment bonus money.

    They must pay the money back because they didn’t fulfill their tour of duty.

    Bob Truska, who was in the Navy, got an honorable discharge for what the Navy calls a personality disorder.

    One year later, he got a bill for more than $3,000, part of his $7,000 enlistment bonus.

    Bob said, “I didn’t know of anything I had to pay back after I got out of the military.”

    The Navy said his honorable discharge “does not exempt him from recoupement of the unearned enlistment bonus, and his personality disorder is not a disability but could interfere with assignment or performance of duty.”

    According to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, each month from October 2005 through October of 2006, at least 600 members of the military and as many as 1,100 have owed bonus debts totaling anywhere from $2.5 million dollars each month to $4 million.

    The money comes from skyrocketing enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses being offered to lure recruits and keep experienced troops in uniform.

    Just this past year, the Army doubled its top bonus from $20,000 to $40,000.
    _____________________

    Now Sir…there is some good news regarding this…

    In the first story about Jordan Fox, he was interviewed on the O’Reilly Factor last eve at about 8:30 PM. Mr. Fox related his true story to Laura Ingram, and ended it with the statement that it is his understanding from talking with other wounded Iraq and Afghanistan War vets from around the country…that what’s happening to him is somewhat common place and is/has happened to many other combat injured Vets….

    Ms. Ingram then announced that he (Jordan Fox) was going to be on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning to tell his entire story….

    Well Sir…as I was researching the veracity of this horrifically unjust, unfair and idiotic action being taken by our Military, I was at the KDKA (Pittsburgh) website at about 11:20 PM when a video was posted at that moment by the news agency that Mr. Fox had just been contacted by the Pentagon and informed that he no longer had to pay any money back…. his debt was expunged…

    Gee…that’s awfully big of ya Uncle Sam ! Apparently, because of all the immediate national exposure this was getting on the O’Reilly show…and was about to get on the entire FOX Network over the next few days or so….someboby’s tit was put in a wringer and the Pentagon took immediate action to stop all this negative news….. I can just see all the phone lines lighting up now….

    Well…that certainly is great news, but this entire matter begs many questions, and this policy, and the assholes behind it (no doubt some asshole military, computer nerd, bean countin brass who’ve never seen combat) need to be investigated….

    We give billions and billions of dollars to countries all over the world, some of who aren’t even friendly to us, but when it comes to some of our brave men and women who answered their country’s call and where disabled in combat doing what they felt is right and just, we want to take back a few thousand bucks because they couldn’t finish their tours of duty because they were wounded…WTF!!!

    President Bush….I implore you….make this a very real Thanksgiving and intervene immediately to rectify any past incidents of this astonishingly unjust practice, and make sure it NEVER.. ever happens again to our fighting men and women of the greatest Military this world has ever seen….

    Cookie…
    CALL YOUR LOCAL CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN AND ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE VETERANS GUARANTEED BONUS ACT OF 2007 (H.R. 3793)!! THEN CALL YOUR LOCAL SENATORS. The ONLY way to stop this madness is to get the DOD policy changed! over 200 US Congressmen/Women support this Bill…MAKE IT LAW!!!!

    Comment by Suzpghartist | November 21, 2007

  13. HOLD UP HERE, THE SOLDIER DONE HIS DUTY, HE WENT TO DEFEND FREEDOM, HE WAS NOT INJERIED BY CHOISE. THE WAY I LOOK AT IT, IT’S THE GOV. AND PRESADENTS FAULT WE HAVE SO MANY SOLDIERS BING INJERIED AND KILLED THEY ARE NOT OVER THERE BY CHOICE IT’S BY DEMAND. COME ONE THEY GET OUT OF BOOT CAMP AND ARE SHIPPED STRAIT OVER AND WE DON’T HAVE ALL THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT WE REALLY NEED FOR THIS WAR. THE GOV. IS JUST BEING A DIRTY PEICE OF SCUM ASKING FOR THE MONEY OR PART OF IT BACK, THE SOLDIER DESIRVES TO KEEP EVERY DAMN DIME HE GOT. HE WAS RISKING HIS LIFE TO BEGAIN WITH…

    Comment by BESSIE FARELY | November 25, 2007

  14. I was disgusted when I heard about this earlier this week. Glad to see I’m not the only one. Thanks for blogging it and thanks to everyone who took the time to call or email their representatives about this outrage.

    Comment by Reverse_Vampyr | November 25, 2007

  15. Didn’t you guys hear? This is Hillary’s plan for paying for her health care ideas.

    Comment by Murphy Klasing | November 25, 2007


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