Wounded Soldiers Being Asked For Parts Of The Signing Bonuses Back
Because they can’t complete their full term of service, I guess.
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.
Sounds pretty lame to me, but this sort of bureaucratic nonsense is why it sucks to work for the government. Hopefully a concerned legislator, or perhaps the President himself, will take notice soon and get this ironed out. Because not completing your service due to an injury sustained during that service is hardly a reason to ask for this money back.
I could see asking for the money back for injuries sustained outside the service, but this guy was hurt in combat. Let him have his money.
