No, but he had plenty of time after he found out about the reimbursement request…enough time to prepare for TV appearances, anyway.

Yep, and that seems to be working out for him. Cut through a crap load of red tape didn’t it.

No, the point of most of the posts on this thread have been ‘they intentionally did this to him,’ ‘typical…somebody probably got a medal for saving money,’ or ‘evil, evil military…won’t somebody please DO SOMETHING?’ or other ‘but…think of the children‘-type posts, not a single one has understood that just because this guy was wounded and disabled it didn’t make him any less of a man who should be capable of taking care of himself.

Hmmm, either you’ve been reading posts I can’t see or you are taking them way out of context. And just so you know he seems to be taking care of himself, just not through the system.

Bureaucracy is as much a part of warfare as weapons are. It’s just a fact of military life. It was that way a thousand years ago, and it will probably be that way a thousand years from now.

I absolutely agree with that statement. Doesn’t make it any easier to stomach when it pops up.

I’m sure some pencil-pusher was doing his job and following regulations; and I’m equally sure those regulations seemed like a good idea at the time they were written.

Right again, both counts. It’s when somebody decided to apply the rule to a situation that doesn’t merit it that I have a problem with.

Try to straighten out this mess and then move on to the next one, and the next, and the one after that…. But for crying out loud, it’s silly to act like this is some kind of crime of the century.

Not the crime of the century, but the brass needs to feel the heat. If they don’t this sort of thing will go unchallenged.

I don’t think this will surprise many vets. We’ve all got some stories about idiotic policies the paper pusher types in the military can come up with.
Oldnuke on November 20, 2007 at 8:58 PM

Bureaucracy is as much a part of warfare as weapons are. It’s just a fact of military life. It was that way a thousand years ago, and it will probably be that way a thousand years from now.

To call a SNAFU like this one “disgraceful” is to say the same thing about the existence of armies: It’s not right or wrong; it’s just completely pointless.

I’m sure some pencil-pusher was doing his job and following regulations; and I’m equally sure those regulations seemed like a good idea at the time they were written.

Try to straighten out this mess and then move on to the next one, and the next, and the one after that…. But for crying out loud, it’s silly to act like this is some kind of crime of the century.

What a great idea! Some poor grunt who’s had his leg shot off should occupy himself digging through all the finance regs so he can protect himself from some disbursing clerk’s SNAFU.

Yes, that’s about right. Self-reliance can be wonderfully therapeutic. For example, my father and uncle were both Vietnam vets. My dad, though he died just a few years later from it, bothered himself to work through his disability and get the benefits to which he was entitled. His remaining years were normal. My uncle, on the other hand, never got over feeling sorry for himself, never applied for benefits, and to this day sponges off of my grandmother’s Social Security because he didn’t want to straighten out his finances with the Marine Corps.

Yeah, we do know that. That’s the point of most of the posts on this thread.

No, the point of most of the posts on this thread have been ‘they intentionally did this to him,’ ‘typical…somebody probably got a medal for saving money,’ or ‘evil, evil military…won’t somebody please DO SOMETHING?’ or other ‘but…think of the children‘-type posts, not a single one has understood that just because this guy was wounded and disabled it didn’t make him any less of a man who should be capable of taking care of himself.

I guess he was too busy getting shot at to be overly concerned about his “Homework”. Yeah, that was pretty stupid on his part.

No, but he had plenty of time after he found out about the reimbursement request…enough time to prepare for TV appearances, anyway.

And at the end of the day it’s the wounded vet’s lost arm/leg/eye/ etc. not some pasty faced disbursing clerk’s. The wounded guy should not have to be worring about this type of B/S.

Nice. Going out to the ‘Support The Troops, But Not The Pasty Face Ones’ rally this afternoon?

IF the individual servicemember bothers to educate himself on the proper procedures.

What a great idea! Some poor grunt who’s had his leg shot off should occupy himself digging through all the finance regs so he can protect himself from some disbursing clerk’s SNAFU.

You should know that the finance system is notoriously uncaring…IF you haven’t done your own homework.

Yeah, we do know that. That’s the point of most of the posts on this thread.

The ‘I don’t knows’ I heard in the interviews tell me he hadn’t.

I guess he was too busy getting shot at to be overly concerned about his “Homework”. Yeah, that was pretty stupid on his part.

but at the end of the day it’s his pay, not theirs.

And at the end of the day it’s the wounded vet’s lost arm/leg/eye/ etc. not some pasty faced disbursing clerk’s. The wounded guy should not have to be worring about this type of B/S.

You seem to have a lot of confidence in a bureaucracy being able to fix their mistakes.

91Veteran on November 21, 2007 at 1:14 AM

Yeah, I do…my pay depends on it every 15 days. It can take some time, but eventually things get straightened out…IF the individual servicemember bothers to educate himself on the proper procedures.

You should know that the finance system is notoriously uncaring…IF you haven’t done your own homework. The ‘I don’t knows’ I heard in the interviews tell me he hadn’t. Of course, if everything goes right nobody but the finance guys have to know the regs…but at the end of the day it’s his pay, not theirs.

Ok…Two more questions: Has this happened to other vets of previous wars such as Gulf War I and can they expect a refund (with interest) as well?

Who’s side will Murtha and Durbin choose?

.

It was a bureaucratic foulup that would’ve been settled on its own eventually, not some nefarious plot that needed the hyperventilation of the press and (since you’re assigning credit here) people at Hot Air.

James on November 20, 2007 at 11:33 PM

You seem to have a lot of confidence in a bureaucracy being able to fix their mistakes.

How long should any injured veteran have to wait for this to be fixed “eventually”?

If it is being collected, it is possible this type of collection could be added to their taxes, or their VA or military medical disability could be reduced by X amount until it is repaid.

Considering there were many who got these notices, it appears it wasn’t getting fixed “eventually”.

As for it getting fixed, I don’t have much faith in Altmire’s bill unless it provides specifics on how the wounded veterans should be able to either stop the collection, or recover what was already taken.

I envision these veterans getting caught in a paperwork nightmare of filling out forms, sending them to some nameless person who couldn’t care less about it, and it taking months for anything to happen…if at all.

I have seen it before with wounded/injured soldiers.

As for veterans of previous actions trying to recover bonuses that were collected, or were never paid, the language of the bill would likely cover this. Veterans legislation almost always covers how veterans of other era’s might be covered under the new legislation. Think of the GI Bill. It provides more of a benefit now than it did just 10 years ago. The legislation addresses veterans from previous era’s in disallowing them from the newer and more generous benefit.

I took a bow but they get all the credit

This was NOT a policy invented by some ‘paper pusher’ to cash in on these wounded vets when they were discharged. It was a normal policy to recoup enlistment bonuses when the individual left of their own accord or were booted for cause, and the medical discharges got caught up in it because someone didn’t apply the exception to this policy that they qualified for.

It was a bureaucratic foulup that would’ve been settled on its own eventually, not some nefarious plot that needed the hyperventilation of the press and (since you’re assigning credit here) people at Hot Air.

Can I take a bow ?

William Amos on November 20, 2007 at 9:23 PM

Of course! I’ll give you a standing ovation. Ya done good! Should have thanked you in my previous post. Sorry.

here

DannoJyd on November 20, 2007 at 9:31 PM

Absolutely no one will be fired! It’s just the military, after all! I wonder how many of our wounded soldiers who could not complete their missions because of their injuries had their bonuses taken away – there have gotten to be lots of them before this came to light. I don’t expect Laura or Hotair to be satisfied with this answer in this particular case. There should be a thorough investigation.

William Amos:Yes,either Michelle needs to put you
on the payroll,or I suggested on another
thread,where’s your Hot Air T-shirt and
cap.Hehe

Bush was busy pardoning a dumb cluck instead of pardoning those border guards. Hope the his turkey makes him sick.

Oldnuke on November 20, 2007 at 9:13 PM

Ah, ok.