Army Denies Education Benefits To National Guard Troops Who Served 22 Months In Iraq
Army Denies Education Benefits To National Guard Troops Who Served 22 Months In Iraq
Approximately 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard recently returned home after serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq. They served 22 months — “longer than any other ground combat unit” — received nine fatalities, and were awarded dozens of Purple Hearts.
But the Army wrote the orders for 1,162 of these soldiers for 729 days, making them ineligible for full educational benefits under the GI Bill, which requires written orders saying they were deployed for 730 days or more. These soldiers were shorted more than $200 per month for college.
First Lt. Jon Anderson believes that the military deliberately cut short their orders to avoid paying the soldiers’ education benefits:
It’s pretty much a slap in the face. I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership…once again failing the soldiers.
Watch CNN’s report on the issue:
Six members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation, as well as Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Norm Coleman (R), have asked Secretary of the Army Pete Geren to investigate the matter. Coleman said that it’s “simply irresponsible to deny education benefits to those soldiers who just completed the longest tour of duty of any unit in Iraq.”
Geren has reportedly assured the lawmakers that the cases “will be reviewed on an expedited basis, so that those who qualify can attend school next semester.”
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77 Responses to “Army Denies Education Benefits To National Guard Troops Who Served 22 Months In Iraq”
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Why does Army command hate the troops?
October 4th, 2007 at 7:12 pmWhat excuse do you TROLLS have for this?????
Comment by RemoveBush — October 4, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
They have a perfectly good excuse: they hate the troops.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:15 pmFirst Lt. Jon Anderson believes that the military deliberately cut short their orders to avoid paying the soldiers’ education benefits:
*****Folks it’s no accident.Why can’t Americans get it in their heads that people who are 80 million $ richer than they are ,don’t share the same interest as them.Stop voting for candidates who are filthy rich, Bush and all repukes as well as some of the Dems Fienstein,liberman etc.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:18 pmThey outsourced your jobs and tell you that it’s going to be good for you in the end.If you can buy that well I am selling the Brooklyn bridge for 50 bucks,want to buy ?
woo! Support the troops!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:18 pmOf course they did, the military is now run like a corporation and just like a corporation they will stiff you on pay, benefits, etc. if it will save them money.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:19 pmWill this mean that the troops are going to finally wake up and realize that they are not fighting for their country? On the contrary, they are dying and returning to this country maimed and crippled, disfigured and dismembered because of the lies told to them by their government. To have the Army screw them out of their educational benefits by one day is unconscionable. Soldiers resist-say NO to the war machine of the United States. The Army will cover this up, which will be reminiscent of the powerful film In the Valley of Elah, when the army tried to cover up the death of a soldier who had returned from Iraq. This all comes back to the classic phrase and bumper sticker-Question Authority.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:21 pmThey must be “phony” soldiers.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:23 pmI guess they don’t want a surge of students.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:26 pmLet the “fragging” begin. Let it start in Washington.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:27 pmThis is no different from the bean counters who determine disability ratings for injured vets. It’s all about “the bottom line,” not living up to promises or doing what’s right for the troops.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:29 pmTo look at another way. These guys are guard so they are like temps. Temps don’t need no steenking benefits.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:29 pmOK, wait a second. They wanted to STAY in Iraq fighting longer?
Comment by Rory — October 4, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
No, dipshit. They want the army to pay for part of their education. They gave 2 years less a day of their life for their country. And now they’re being nickel & dimed. Surely you have some compassion for these soldiers since you support the troops and the mission.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:31 pmYa think that Rush will report this on his radio show?
j swift, if you are joking it’s a poor joke. If you are serious, you just spit in the face of our american fighting services.
pitiful.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:32 pmThey absolutely knew that they were shorting these guys by doing that, that is what you get when you have repukian scum running things.
Why do repukian scum hate the troops? Because they care not for them, they are cannon fodder and that’s all.
Buck Fush
October 4th, 2007 at 7:32 pmRory, you too are spitting in the face of those that serve this country.
Do you enjoy that? You disgust me.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:33 pmI’m just as inclined as anyone here to believe the army shortchanged them, but before I pick up a pitchfork, I have a few questions first.
If they were in Iraq for 22 months, why write them orders to be activated for 729 days?
I’ll assume they were on the ground in Iraq for 22 months (669 days). How many more days are they activated for logistical purposes (transportation to and from Iraq + hurry-up-and-wait syndrome)?
I don’t see how it’s clear that these soldiers served for 730+ days and were shortchanged by the Army. It seems like some bureaucrat overestimated their tour length and got their hopes up.
It takes 24 months to reach 730 days, the number required for GI bill benefits. Even if this National Guard unit didn’t hit that number, as the longest serving unit in Iraq, I think Congress should expressly grant them GI bill benefits in their case. But until I see some of this ambiguity cleared up, I’m keeping my pitchfork in the shed.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:34 pmAre they all willing to go back to Iraq for one more day?
Comment by Rory — October 4, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
You want to continue to live in a free country don’t you? Are you willing to spend the next 729 days fighting in Iraq for your freedom? No? Then STFU.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:35 pmAre trolls as dumb as they sound? I mean would you see this if you were face to face with them.
Troll?
If I didn’t know it was an act, I would think that is what they would look like. But, I know it is act. There is nobody in medical history as stupid as the trolls come across.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:35 pm#22 yes, hellinabucket, I was being sarcastic. I have every faith that this is exactly how the military bureaucracy sees the national guard.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:37 pmGeorge W. Bush, shoveling shit down our throats for over 7 years now.
-GSD
October 4th, 2007 at 7:38 pm#16-RemoveBush
As a Vietnam veteran, I half agree with your post. The military does not have to engage in an armed coup against the government. Enlisted personnel and officers can certainly, however, take part in your first suggestion of refusal, which was the focus of the moving 2006 documentary Sir! No Sir!, which chronicled the GI Movement that took place at or near military bases both at home and abroad during the Vietnam War. The GI Resistance was instrumental in bringing about an end to that ill-conceived war and it can do the same thing with the occupation in Iraq. The best way to halt a war is to have it happen from within.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:38 pmwoo! Support the troops!
Comment by Candyce — October 4, 2007 @ 7:18 pm
And support the “phoney troops” too!
Phuck you Limpball and the Hillbilly Heroin Brain you rode in on!!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:39 pmReported Rory as abuse, it’s posts at this point are unamerican and uncalled for.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:41 pmI was never in the military. Does that mean no one can state an opinion on this issue unless they were in the military?
Comment by Rory — October 4, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
Chickenhawk is a political epithet used in the United States to describe someone who strongly supports a war or other military action, but has never personally been in a war, especially if that person actively avoided military service when of draft age.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:43 pmThe only thing phony and not funny about all this is the PHONY administration.
Support the toops is something the republicon have NEVER done.
It’s all talk and no action. It’s HYPOCRISY at its worst.
I so wish all of America would watch the movie “V is for Vendetta” and get our clues on how to take our country back.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:43 pmFirst Lt. Jon Anderson believes that the military deliberately cut short their orders to avoid paying the soldiers’ education benefits:
Ya think? It was no accident that their orders were cut short by one day. It is absolutely disgusting how little this administration cares about and respects our troops. How anyone can say that the Rethugs and Bush supports our troops is beyond me. It is the Democrats who are fighting for them to get more pay, better benefits and better training. It is the Rethugs who are opposing everything the Democrats try to do for the troops.
WAKE UP AMERICA. The Bush Administration does not support the troops for anything other than making them cannon fodder.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:44 pmAnother cute and demonic Repuke trick!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:44 pmI thought as much j swift.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:44 pmFolks, isn’t it obvious that there is absolutely no reason to respond to Rory. He’s a joke. He is such an unrepentant cultist that he can actually try to defend this horrendous betrayal of our troops. What’s the point of talking to an inhuman a-hole like this? He’s got nothing. He’s a sick, self-loathing, closeted fascist and he’s a big part of what’s wrong with our country and why people all over the world hate our guts. Again, I suggest you don’t take the bait and ignore him unless he has something useful to add, which I doubt.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:45 pmBush Administration only gives lip service to supporting the troops from body armor to lack of health care and now to this. Agreed, Bilbo….wake up america and realize that we definitely do have an enemy to fear - it’s our very own “enemy within”.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:45 pmRet. Col. Ripper - What troll named Rory? I simply scroll right by these superficial, moronic posts as though they’re invisible.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:46 pmThese national guardsmen were totally “screwed” by Bush and Congress. Time to rout them all out of office before they destroy this country.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pmI served 4 years in vietnam, and that scum Rory really hit a nerve there, I would smash that idiots face in in person if I could.
Yes, Jack Ripper with posts like he just made we all need to ignore “it”, that was over the edge.
Buck Fush
October 4th, 2007 at 7:48 pmThis is the same trick they pull on disabled vets. They rate them 29% disabled because if they are rated 30% disabled they get lifetime health benefits and a pension. And yes #8 - they are running this country like a corporation, screw the employees so that the fat cats can get a bigger bonus and the stockholders get a bigger paycheck.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:48 pmSame old Indian trick used during Vietnam days if one was lucky enough to get into a national guard unit. They would keep them one day less than 6 months in order to NOT have to pay them any benefits whatsoever. Same old dirty trick.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:49 pmWhat in Hell do you expect? Isn’t Minnesota a blue state? Why would BushCo want to educate a bunch of DFHs? They’re needed at Wal-Mart, not college!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:50 pmIs there anyone out there who still believes that we have a government who cares about it’s citizens? Does anyone yet doubt that we’re entering full-blown Fascism at this very moment? If you do, your gullibility will also convince you that the moon is made of cream cheese.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:50 pmThis is almost as bad as the armored vehicle issue. The military was always aware of the fact that there were vehicles that could withstand explosions from below, but, because of special contracts for Bush’s friends, would not supply them to our troops. They actually gave some to the Iraqi army but not to ours. How many examples of this do the American people need to see before they understand that these neocons don’t give a damn about our troops?
October 4th, 2007 at 7:51 pmSlimy sleazebags we have in Washington these days. The worst of the worst - worst president EVER in history of this country surrounded by the most capricious, heinous, necrotic Congress Ever!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:52 pmColonel: How about families having to buy needed body armor to protect their loved ones over there? That should have been our first clue about the inhuman nature of the beasts in Washington.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:52 pmI at a point right now that I want to suggest to the troops that they REFUSE to do anything and perform a coup to take back our country.
What I am hoping for is a military coup where they march into the White House and frog-step both Bush and Chaney out of the White House.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:53 pmSomeone could make a 2 hour documentary detailing the many ways the GWB admin has screwed the troops. Time it to come out next October.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:54 pmYou’re not a girl Jake.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:55 pmAnd with that crap you posted you deserve to get hit.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:55 pmYou would hit a girl?
Comment by Rory
I guess Jake the Flake underwent a sex change this afternoon. This morning his persona “Rory” was claiming that it was a “he” not a “she”. Now it is back to being a “she”. Definitely a Sybil personality.
How about we all ignore IT. Good Advice Buck Fush
October 4th, 2007 at 7:56 pmYou would hit a girl? — Rory
I do not believe you are (as you put it “a girl.” I think you are a man posing as a woman.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:56 pmWomen don’t call themselves girl, misogynistic men do that. Women don’t call for women to lose the right to vote either, unless they’re out of bellevue on leave.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:58 pmGotta go, my blood pressure just shot thru the ceiling with “it’s” heartless hate for the troops.
Later to all the real Americans here who do support the troops.
Buck Fush
October 4th, 2007 at 7:59 pmThere’s a Report Abuse link. If someone responds to Jake, click it. In time it will have an effect.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:59 pmJust when I think a 29%-er psychophant troglodyte couldn’t stoop any lower, lo and behold.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:04 pm#38-Rory
On the contrary, the UCMJ states that those in the military have not only a right but a duty and an obligation not to obey what they consider to be an illegal order. This is why I highly recommend that you rent or buy the powerful documentary Sir! No Sir!, which explains why those Vietnam veterans refused to support that idiotic war. As former Green Beret Donald Duncan, who was in the film, stated “I was doing it right but I wasn’t doing right.” You would hear David Cline, who was shot while in Vietnam and received three Purple Hearts, say “Your silence [referring to the soldiers] is keeping that lie going.” This film also served as an inspiration for Lt. Ehren Watada, who has refused to deploy to Iraq because he recognizes that the occupation of Iraq is illegal and immoral. As Watada said during his speech at the Veterans for Peace convention in Seattle in 2006 “The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it.”
He also said that “The oath we take swears allegiance not to one man but to a document of principles and laws designed to protect the people. Enlisting in the military does not relinquish one’s right to seek the truth-neither does it excuse one from rational thought nor the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. ‘I was only following orders’ [as the Nuremberg Trials proved] is never an excuse.”
October 4th, 2007 at 8:04 pmI do not believe you are (as you put it “a girl.†I think you are a man posing as a woman.
Comment by koko the talking gorilla — October 4, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
You don’t have to be a man to be stupid.
One day, Rory will be having some sort of problem with a rule, and I hope that someone looks her in the eye and says, “Rules and rules.”
October 4th, 2007 at 8:06 pmAh crap. Do over.
One day, Rory will be having some sort of problem with a rule, and I hope that someone looks her in the eye and says, “Rules are rules.â€
October 4th, 2007 at 8:07 pmVeritas: “How about families having to buy needed body armor to protect their loved ones over there?”
Exactly. You could go on and on. Extended tours. Insufficient rest between tours. Contractors in the midst getting $150K a year for stuff they used to do. Lower admittance standards, soldiers who don’t agree with the mission are “phony soldiers,” etc. etc. etc.
Bush USES soldiers as photo ops and shits all over them. And you can’t blame the soldiers for not knowing since they don’t have access to any liberal radio or even liberal blogs. All they get are the big, fat fascist blowhards of right-wing radio.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:15 pmIf anyone out there feels that Bush is anything but a piece of shit - you are an idiot.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:37 pmIs their any segment of the population of this country that this administration has not screwed over?
We are getting close to the point where we need a country to invade us to free we the people and establish democracy in America!
October 4th, 2007 at 8:37 pm#76-RemoveBush
I am not sure trying to argue that one war is worse than the other will ever really prove anything. You believe that “…this is WORSE then [sic] then”. You may want to try making that statement to the almost 60,000 military families who lost loved ones in that unnecessary war in Vietnam. To try and deny that both wars took, and have taken, a heavy toll on those who were thrust in those conflicts is simply absurd. The larger point that liberals should be making, I believe, is that those in the military should never have been placed in those positions in the first place, which is the whole point of the documentary Sir! No Sir!.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:41 pm#89-Rory
I would view that ruling by the Supreme Court as being quite favorable to the Bush administration but not a view that is universally shared by others. This war/occupation has been seen as illegal by the Geneva Convention, the UN Charter, the U.S. Constitution and, as I mentioned earlier, the UCMJ. The U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10, Section II subsections 498-504 begins by stating that “Any person, whether a member of the armed forces or a civilian, who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefor and liable to punishment.” As I also previously mentioned, when those German officers and officials tried to claim that they were only following orders, the court at Nuremberg took a different position and as a result hanged them for their crimes.
If you were somehow obliquely referring to Lt. Watada’s first court martial, it would be instructive to remember that the first witness to take the stand on the Wednesday when the trial was being held was Watada. The judge in the case, John Head, tried to claim that Watada did not somehow understand the stipulation that he had signed the week before, despite the fact that the court had literally gone through that stipulation line by line with the lieutenant and decided, over the objections of the defense, no less, to bizarrely declare a mistrial. A more likely reason why Head declared that mistrial was because Watada was due to take the stand and was going to declare to the world that the war was illegal, something which the military and the government could not possibly allow to happen. The last thing this administration wishes to happen is for word to get out that this war has been conducted illegally and to have that happen by, of all people, a military officer. What this country needs is more people like the lieutenant willing to tell the truth, something which the U.S. government is quite loath to do.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:46 pmThis is another good example of how useful my proposed “Freedom Tax” would be. Besides paying for the war and giving health care to all it can cover education benefits for the service people sent to that war. You only pay the Freedom Tax if you are in the top 5% income or are a corporation in defense,oil or other war profiteer industry, you know the folks that got the big tax cuts and war profits. Since the Iraq oil revenues never materialized as advertised it is only fair that those that have profited now pay-up;)
October 4th, 2007 at 10:11 pmOK, DEMOCRATS! Here’s a good cause. Let ‘er RIP!
show us why we elected you-
Make the chimp veto THIS legislation!
October 4th, 2007 at 11:55 pmI don’t understand why the complaining. They volunteered, didn’t they?
I’m pretty sure that when they enlisted they were assured they would never be sent to Iraq in the first place, so it’s not like they were expecting to get those education benefits.
Besides, what’s to prevent the Administration from giving them a month’s rest, then sending them back for another 22 months?
Orders are orders and rules are rules. If the rule says 730 days, and there is no rule against ordering them back at 729 days, then what the Bush Administration did was perfectly legal.
Don’t you realize that by allowing these men and women to come home to their families a day earlier, Bush saved the taxpayers over $6,000,000 per year?!? That one extra day of service would have cost us that much! Would we really have benefited the war effort $6,000,000 worth just by having a few soldiers stay one lousy day?
You all blame Bush for being fiscally irresponsible, yet when he shows fiscal responsibility, you criticize Him for it.
/troll
October 5th, 2007 at 12:07 amYou’re too good at this, Briseadh na Faire.
*shudder*
October 5th, 2007 at 12:53 amBottom line: Educated Vets = new career opportunities = less forced to re-enlist. Skimp on educational benefits = get more soldiers who have to re-up just to feed their families.
October 5th, 2007 at 7:49 amHey if they had to send out the Godfather to run interference for this story, they must be slightly worried about the traction its getting. This is not a “lib” story. This should disgust everyone across the politcal spectrum–and it will.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:17 amIt might be nice for Congress to afford all Americans the pleasure of meeting person(s) who signed these orders.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:56 amWould the Armed Services Committee please invite them for viewing at the Capitol.
Godfather2,
I’m in MN.
My Son served in the Red Bull Guard unit this is about.
It’s true.
2,600 of our young folks are being denied benefits because of planned denial.
These folks served the longest terms in the history of the Guards.
That would be NATIONAL GUARD.
You know, the people who are supposed to be here to protect the country from invasion; not invading other countries?
That’s fact. Any questions?
October 5th, 2007 at 8:58 amSUPPORT THE TROOPS!!!
October 5th, 2007 at 9:28 amTo all of you liberals, this is your homework, find at least three sources to verify the veracity of this story.
Spare us your lectures on how to be a skeptic. LOL.
October 5th, 2007 at 9:29 amLooks like Godfather2 doesn’t really want to hear facts, eh?
Ahhh, the harsh croaking of chickenshit chickenhawks in the morning!
October 5th, 2007 at 9:32 amSoldiers: We call them our heroes, we treat them like chumps.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:01 amThis must not have been reported by Rush, that’s why godfather is looking for facts.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:19 amAre you saying our soldiers are lying?
Godfather2 - who F&*# are you to be assigning homework? Your username alone speaks volumes on what kind of a leaking scumbag you are. Go suck the cyst of Rush’s ass; then maybe the two of you could enlist together. Chickenshit motherf&*%er.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:01 amPeople praise the soldiers all time. But they really don’t give a shit about the soldiers. The same people who screamed about moveon are quiet about Rush. Everybody uses the soldiers when it benefit them.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:12 pmAnd this surprises anyone how ? Our VA hospitals are now privately run and cut care for our soldiers to keep that bottom line healthy.
Ask families of the soldiers killed in action how long it took to receive death benefits and what they had to do to get them.
Rush is allowed to make fun of Michael J. Fox and wounded soldiers.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:31 pmHis recorded words need to be on the airwaves 24/7 just as Imus words were. I was not an Imus fan, however, he was wise enough to apologize for his stupidity. Rush doesn’t acknowledge his stupidity.
Rush explained:
Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder may include:
Grandiose sense of one’s own abilities or achievements
October 5th, 2007 at 12:39 pmFantasies about having exceptional power, attractiveness or success
Sense of belonging to an exclusive group of people who truly understand each other
Need for constant praise
Expectations of special treatment
Exploitation of other people
Lack of empathy for other people
Envy of other people or a belief that you are the subject of other people’s envy
Haughty or arrogant behaviors
This policy should come as no surprise to anyone in or from the military culture. I worked with a B52 pilot from the Vietnam era. He was permanently assigned to a base in Texas. They would get TDY orders for 179 days to Guam (runs over the north), come home for a week and deploy for another 179 days. The service avoided a PCS move and the crew was never “assigned” to a combat zone. I’d be real sure this wasn’t invented during Nam.
The NeoCons have just perfected a fraudulent system.
October 5th, 2007 at 2:24 pmThe Pentagon has a history of nickel and diming the troops. Remember all the diagnoses for mental disorders (pre-existing) that saves the government from paying medical benefits to wounded soldiers? That’s just one more example.
Add that to the SCHIP thing, juxtapose it for Bush’s (and the Republicans’) crying for ever more contract money for the war and you’ve got some perfect campaign commercials for 2008.
October 6th, 2007 at 8:27 pm