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Author Topic:   Wrong on SO many levels! Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back
goatgirl
unregistered
posted November 20, 2007 11:01 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
http://kdka.com/local/military.signing.bonuses.2.571660.html
Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back
Reporting
Marty Griffin
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.

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We are weaving character every day, and the way to weave the best character is to be kind and to be useful. Think right, act right; it is what we think and do that makes us who we are. ~ Elbert Hubbard

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jwhop
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Posts: 2787
From: Madeira Beach, FL USA
Registered: Apr 2009

posted November 21, 2007 11:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for jwhop     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, this has been going on since at least the 1980's.

It's utterly mind blowing and disgraceful that soldiers injured in service to the United States would be asked...required to give back their signing bonuses.

Somewhere in the bowels of the federal government there must be a Department of Stupidity from which outrageous policies like this one are hatched.

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goatgirl
unregistered
posted November 21, 2007 06:05 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
These people deserve to have the government honor THEIR part of the deal, since the soldiers have fulfilled their part. It's just so disgusting to me that this would even be something to discuss, let alone implement!

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We are weaving character every day, and the way to weave the best character is to be kind and to be useful. Think right, act right; it is what we think and do that makes us who we are. ~ Elbert Hubbard

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jwhop
Knowflake

Posts: 2787
From: Madeira Beach, FL USA
Registered: Apr 2009

posted November 24, 2007 12:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jwhop     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
While this is outrageous policy, I have no doubt there are other policies of long standing and supreme stupidity which just haven't come to light yet.

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