Download Good god, have they no decency at all?
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.
Jordan Fox's case is appalling:
In Jordan Fox’s case, he was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle, causing back injuries and blindness in his right eye. He was sent home, unable to complete the final three months of his military commitment. Last week, the Pentagon sent him a bill: Fox owed the government nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus.
“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,” Fox said.
Updated: John Amato: Jordan is now getting a chance to speak out.
OK, so who really supports the troops? Actually, I hate to talk about the troops this way, use them to further a discussion, but these warmongering freaks (Kristol and his ilk) only make more money talking about war and more war and then attack us as anti-military because we want to get the troops out of Iraq and make sure they get the care they need when they return home. This example illustrates how little the BushCo. team values their service. I wonder how much you'll hear from the nutosphere about this story since the military uses them to spread their war propaganda around...
TP has a quote from Rep. Jason Altmire:
I am heartened by Brigadier General Michael S. Tucker’s announcement of the Army’s policy that it will not ask for repayment of bonuses paid to those soldiers who are injured in the line of duty. However, I am disappointed that the policy does not go further by stating that wounded soldiers will also receive the remaining balance of future bonus payments. It is preposterous for our government to have a policy that says that a soldier who has sustained serious injuries in the field of battle has not fulfilled his or her service obligation.
