National Guard Welcomes Attention In Wake Of Enlistment Bonus Repayment Demands
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- The California National Guard says it welcomes attention to the predicament of nearly 10,000 soldiers ordered to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after signing up to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Spokesman Capt. William Martin said Monday the Guard has been trying to inform those people that an appeals process is available.
It could relieve soldiers of having to return bonuses of $15,000 or more improperly provided in the 2000s.
Martin says "bad actors" working for the Guard misled soldiers with outsized bonuses.
He says they've been replaced with leaders trying to resolve problems.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress and in the California Legislature are decrying the policy and calling for federal action.
Soldiers told The Los Angeles Times they feel betrayed by having to repay the money.
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