Sometimes it really does take an act of Congress to make things right. So an act of Congress it will have to be.
There's a deal in place, finally, among our duly elected representatives in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, which would keep thousands of National Guard soldiers from having to repay enlistment bonuses dangled before them when the War Against Terror was at its terrible zenith in the 2000s.
The brass at the Pentagon--and they have plenty of it--demanded the money after audits revealed overpayments to many Guard members, mostly in California. But lawmakers have ordered the Pentagon to drop its demands, unless it can prove a particular soldier took the bonuses knowing he was ineligible. Which will probably put this whole thing to rest. At long last.
The money amounted to a rounding error for the Pentagon's budget. But to an individual, to a war veteran, coming home to a five-figure bill from the government you just served to protect was considered ... poor form.
The least the government could do was own up to its own mistake, and cut the grunts a break. And never let it be said that, when it comes to vets, the government doesn't do the least it can do.
Now let's move on. And chalk this one up to the usual fubar memo from HQ.
Editorial on 12/03/2016