7387bb786bdceccee0bf…

While the Pentagon is already backtracking and doing damage control, it seems that this has been policy for quite some time, despite numerous complaints.U.S. troops wounded in Iraq are being ordered to repay the bonuses they got for signing up,…

Uh…wasn’t “8,000 calls to the number since March 2007″ clear?

Crystal. That means the number was called 8000 times. Not that 8000 people had to return their re-up bonuses.

So saying 8000 calls “and it’s still going on” presumes that those 8K worth of calls are a relevant 8K. And they may not be. Nothing BG Tucker said supports that contention.

I took his point as that the Army is looking into it and as evidence, they’ve set up a reference line for those that MAY be effected can call.

Uh…wasn’t “8,000 calls to the number since March 2007″ clear?

91Veteran

that would not surprise me. But hhte fact there is a toll free # to take care of these problems, and no one who received bogus bills for VA care (that problem Fox News broke a few years ago after Saddam was captured) has surfaced to complain that their tab was not paid for by the VA, tells me the military is taking care of the problems as they surface. True they should never happen, but this is what happens when the gov’t take over things.

8,000 calls to the number since March 2007, and it was still going on.

You’re assuming all 8000 of those calls were from those that this was happening to. BG Tucker (a ultra-stand up man), didn’t say that it happened 8K times. He said the phone they set up was called 8000 times.

greenonions on November 21, 2007 at 10:31 PM

Uh…wasn’t “8,000 calls to the number since March 2007″ clear?

Damage control?

Come on! This is making things right. Military taking care of gov’t $%&k-ups. This happened too a coupole years ago when vets were getting medical bills for war injuries. They (military leaders and politicians) quickly fixed that screw-up too. This is not military members sending out these bogus bills to vets.

This should serve as a prime example to liberals of what happens when the gov’t has too much BS in thier control of and operation of things. More gov’t control eventually always = more BS, lower quality (and customer service), and screw-ups. I should know first hand. over a year to get surgery (from Tricare) to correct an injury that a pro athlete would have gotten that next day or week. WTF!?

8,000 calls to the number since March 2007, and it was still going on.

You’re assuming all 8000 of those calls were from those that this was happening to. BG Tucker (a ultra-stand up man), didn’t say that it happened 8K times. He said the phone they set up was called 8000 times.

Wow, where’s all the vitriol? If this kind of blunder were made by an institution controlled by Democrats or liberals, there would be non-stop bashing in here about how this is typical, the product of liberal ideology, representative of the underlying immorality/incompetency, etc.

Instead I see reasonable comments about how it’s a shame this happened, how it must have been caused by a few misguided clerical workers in the bureaucracy, etc. followed by a reasonable attempt to fix the situation.

tneloms on November 21, 2007 at 2:03 PM

Typical. Late to the party. You should have checked the comments in the other three posts.

8,000 calls to the number since March 2007, and it was still going on.

…still seems as if it was not getting fixed “eventually”.

It was good to hear the General’s straight talk, nothing mealy mouthed or dodging as is a usual response other bureaucracies.

“doesn’t pass the common sense test”. No…it didn’t.

Thanks for being honest with your soldiers General.

Oldnuke on November 21, 2007 at 5:15 PM

Eye-to-eye.

Example:

When my ex-husband and I divorced, I reverted to the use of my maiden name. However, when I retired from the Air Force in 2003, my ex (a civilian) was still listed as one of my dependents, though I had submitted a copy of my decree when the divorce was final–in 1992. And between 1992 and 2003 I had to submit a copy again and again and again for the bureaucracy to get the idea that I was using my maiden name again even though this was explicitly spelled out on the front of the decree. The bureaucracy finally figured out the concept of name change, but it still had the ex listed as my husband! Good thing I didn’t croak during that time.

If they can’t handle such commonplace concepts correctly, I don’t know why anyone would be surprised that the government bureaucracy f-ed this sort of thing up.

The worst thing, however, is that malice and incompetence often have the same result.

why has this been the way of the military these last few years?

pay for your own equipment, pay for your medical expenses, give back the bonus.

asses.

madmonkphotog on November 21, 2007 at 3:55 PM

Sorry to rain on your parade but the military bureaucracy has been this way forever. Don’t mean to imply that the military is ‘wicked’ or ‘bad’ in any way. Just that the red tape machine causes foul ups, and sometimes they are pretty spectacular. This is nothing new, stuff like this happened when I was in and that was a long time ago and under both dems and republicans…no difference. I detest red tape of whatever political stripe.

(By the way, I’m not advocating the former approach for this issue; I’m advocating the latter approach for most issues that are brought up on this forum.)

tneloms on November 21, 2007 at 2:03 PM

Who says were werent outraged ? Need to check some other posts there tneloms

William Amos on November 21, 2007 at 2:07 PM

One reason we are not storming the ramparts…

The Opinionator on November 21, 2007 at 2:11 PM

My point was that the reaction here to this issue is the *correct* one — recognizing that even though the facts themselves may be outrageous, that doesn’t mean the people behind it are America-hating, stupid, immoral, terrorist-supporting, or whatever. If you’re claiming that the comments on events like this involving a Democrat/liberal organization don’t routinely involve judgments like that, then I don’t know what to say.

I don’t see how this is trolling. This is my honest and, I think, reasonable impression of the comments on this blog.

pay for your own equipment, pay for your medical expenses, give back the bonus.

asses.

The Opinionator on November 21, 2007 at 2:11 PM

You know, your approach sounds reasonable, but don’t you think we should all start marching in the streets, pour cement over railroad tracks, vandalize a recruiting office, set fire to an American flag, make up obscene protest signs and froth at the mouth as we spew vile hatred against the McChimpy Bushitler Halliburton regime that cares not one whit for the blood sacrifice of our children in his illegal war for oil?
I mean, what can you hope to accomplish with a measured response to government incompetence?
Call your Congressman ?!?
Right.
Good luck with that.

There are plenty of us that are frosted about this which is why center-right blogs and the “evil” Fox News have been pushing this story. One reason we are not storming the ramparts is that clearly this is an injustice that will be rectified once it has been exposed to the light of day. Another is that many of us, myself included, have served in the military and we see/saw nonsense like this all the time and understand why and how it happens and how to clear it up.

Make no mistake, if they did not get this fixed asap, my America-hating congressman, David Price, would be hearing from me. And despite his enmity towards the military, he would jump right on it as it would make the Administration look bad. As long as it was cleared up, I could care less who looks bad. Now, back to your troll cave!

Instead I see reasonable comments about how it’s a shame this happened, how it must have been caused by a few misguided clerical workers in the bureaucracy, etc. followed by a reasonable attempt to fix the situation.

(By the way, I’m not advocating the former approach for this issue; I’m advocating the latter approach for most issues that are brought up on this forum.)