Broken Promises
« Previous EntriesInjured Iraq Vets Come Home to Poverty
Friday, February 15th, 2008Injured Soldiers Returning from Iraq Struggle for Medical Benefits, Financial SurvivalBy BRIAN ROSS, DAVID SCOTT and MADDY SAUER Oct. 14, 2004
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.
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.
Injured Troops Suffer Financially
Friday, February 15th, 2008For Injured U.S. Troops, ‘Financial Friendly Fire’ Flaws in Pay System Lead to Dunning, Credit Trouble
By Donna St. George, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 14, 2005
His hand had been blown off in Iraq, his body pierced by shrapnel. He could not walk. Robert Loria was flown home for a long recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he tried to bear up against intense physical pain and reimagine his life’s possibilities. The last thing on his mind, he said, was whether the Army had correctly adjusted his pay rate — downgrading it because he was out of the war zone — or whether his combat gear had been accounted for properly: his Kevlar helmet, his suspenders, his rucksack.
But nine months after Loria was wounded, the Army garnished his wages and then, as he prepared to leave the service, hit him with a $6,200 debt. That was just before last Christmas, and several lawmakers scrambled to help. This spring, a collection agency started calling. He owed another $646 for military housing.
Herold’s War, A homeless Iraq vet asks for respect
Friday, February 15th, 2008Originally published by Guerilla News Network
Jan. 10, 2005 By Anthony Lappé, GNN
Pfc. Herold Noel wasn’t expecting a parade. But when he and his fellow soldiers from the Army’s Expeditionary Unit 37 arrived home from Iraq in Hinesville, Ga. they got what one might call less than a hero’s welcome. Waiting for them as they deplaned were local police officers. In their hands were lists of names of soldiers with outstanding warrants, mostly for traffic and parking tickets left unpaid while off fighting the war.
“I had a couple [of unpaid tickets],” Noel recalls. “I told my family to meet me in the parking lot and I went out the side door.” According to Noel, several soldiers were hauled away in cuffs as their families looked on. The scene was an ominous sign of things to come.
70 Year old Lied to, and sent to Afghanistan
Friday, February 15th, 2008Retired Army colonel, 70, sent to Afghanistan
Dr. John Caulfield thought it had to be a mistake when the Army asked him to return to active duty. After all, he’s 70 years old and had already retired – twice. He left the Army in 1980 and private practice two years ago.
“My first reaction was disbelief,” Caulfield said. “It never occurred to me that they would call a 70-year-old.”
In fact, he was so sure it was an error that he ignored the postcards and telephone messages asking if he would be willing to volunteer for active duty to “backfill” somewhere on the East Coast, Europe or Hawaii. That would be OK, he thought. It would release active duty oral surgeons from those areas to go to combat zones in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Re-enlistment bonus Denied
Friday, February 15th, 2008National Guard member denied his promised re-enlistment bonus money
By Dan Bewley
A re-enlistment bonus offered by the Michigan National Guard has a West Michigan couple confused. The couple says they were told they would pocket $15,000, only to find out later they can’t get the money.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken, this was a decision he made…that he wanted to get back in the military,” said Carrie Bunker.
Carrie’s husband, Tommy, decided last month to re-enlist in the National Guard. He spent most of the 1990s serving his country. Now, hard financial times and deep patriotism helped spur the decision.
When a Bonus isn’t a Bonus
Friday, February 15th, 2008WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has reneged on its offer to pay a $15,000 bonus to members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who agree to extend their enlistments by six years, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle).
The bonuses were offered in January to Active Guard and Reserve and military technician soldiers who were serving overseas. In April, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs ordered the bonuses stopped, Murray said.
Military Broken Promises
Friday, February 15th, 2008The military recruiters are pressured to make promises to get new recruits, but there is no obligation in the military contract you sign for those promises to be kept. The military can change your job training program, your job assignment, your duty station, at any time, for any reason. They can extend your service for as long as they want. They can say you’ll get a bonus, and then cancel the program.
Soldiers and veterans have experienced all of these and more. Other broken promises are less specific, but not less important. Women who are sexually assaulted in the military probably expected to be treated with consideration, and their attackers to be prosecuted. But it doesn’t always happen that way.
WAR – Think it won’t happen to you?
Friday, February 15th, 2008Many of the U.S. soldiers who fought in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama and the Persian Gulf, never expected they would be the ones to see combat. Many of the Reserve soldiers who fought in the Gulf had been told that this would never happen to them. Recruiters often tell new enlistees that they won’t be going to Iraq, they make promises about special training programs and technical job assignments.
Remember, your training, location and job assignment can be changed by the military at any time, for any reason, no matter what you were promised, and no matter what it says in your enlistment “contract”. The main purpose of the military is to fight wars, and if you enlist you will have no choice if you are ordered to fight for something you don’t believe in—like protecting a foreign dictator or oil profits.
Where are all the jobs?
Friday, February 15th, 2008BY CHERYL L. REED STAFF REPORTER, March 26, 2006
In two tours in Iraq as a Marine sergeant, Angelina Summerfield supervised up to 50 switchboard and radio operators whose job was to monitor U.S. spy planes and report sightings of roadside bombs.
Now back in civilian life and living in Blue Island, Summerfield, like thousands of other veterans returning home after serving in Iraq, is finding it tough to get a job despite her military experience.
David Qualls Signed up for the “Try One” Program
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
Specialist David Qualls signed up for the National Guard “Try One” program. Is it one year, or 28.5 years? The correct answer is 28.5 years, his separation date is now the same as Emiliano Santiago, Christmas Eve 2031 !
When he wanted to quit a year later, he was told he couldn’t go back home from Iraq to his family in Arkansas. David and seven other soldiers affected by the Stop Loss policy filed a lawsuit against the military to fight their contracts being involuntarily being extended. David was the only soldier who identified himself in the lawsuit, the other seven were afraid of retaliation, so they refused to be named.
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