Yesterday, the blogosphere erupted in anger over the report that Pfc. Jordan Fox was being asked by the Pentagon to return some of his enlistment signing bonus because he was injured by a roadside bomb while in Iraq and did not have the opportunity to complete his full tour.

Appearing on Fox News this morning, Pentagon spokesman Michael Tucker announced that the Pentagon was reversing course and would not force Jordan to repay the bonus. “It doesn’t pass the common-sense test,” he said.

Jordan appeared on the same show an hour later to respond to the Pentagon’s decision. “That’s impressive,” he said, “but my next question is how many other mistakes have been made?” Last night, appearing on a series of cable news shows, Jordan said he’s heard of many other soldiers who have faced similar circumstances. He told MSNBC’s Dan Abrams:

I do have to say — this isn’t the end. This is just the beginning because it’s still a continuing problem amongst other men that maybe are too afraid to speak up. Well they need to speak up and we need to end this now.

Watch it:

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), who has introduced the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act to prevent the Defense Department from penalizing wounded soldiers, put out this statement this morning:

I am heartened by Brigadier General Michael S. Tucker’s announcement of the Army’s policy that it will not ask for repayment of bonuses paid to those soldiers who are injured in the line of duty. However, I am disappointed that the policy does not go further by stating that wounded soldiers will also receive the remaining balance of future bonus payments. It is preposterous for our government to have a policy that says that a soldier who has sustained serious injuries in the field of battle has not fulfilled his or her service obligation.

While serving in Iraq, a roadside bomb knocked Jordan unconscious and blinded him in his right eye. He is now recovering a portion of his eyesight, but continues to have back pain. Jordan had received $10,000 as a signing bonus for enlisting. The Army originally demanded that he return $5,000, but reduced the amount to $3,000 after transferring his unused leave pay.

Jordan’s parents started Operation Pittsburgh Pride, a nonprofit organization that sends care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. In May, Jordan’s mother personally met President Bush. “I asked him to look in on the First Cavalry,” she said. “My son was injured on Sunday in Iraq. He has a concussion, and some issues with his sight in his right eye. I asked him to check on the Calvary, to make sure we had enough equipment.” Here’s Jordan’s mother shaking hands with Bush:

Last week, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan. After his trip, he sharply criticized the United Service Organizations (USO) for not sending more celebrities to the country. AP reported:

[T]he cantankerous Fox News Channel commentator told The Associated Press that he’s disappointed that the United Service Organizations “doesn’t put anybody out there (in Afghanistan).”

“I went to thank these guys on behalf of me and my audience,” he said in an interview from Istanbul, Turkey. “As far as I know, the only famous people in the past year were (country music singer) Toby Keith and me.“

At our request, USO provided ThinkProgress with its letter responding to O’Reilly’s inaccurate charges, urging him to “set the record straight.” USO has already sent seven entertainment tours to Afghanistan this year, and expects to send approximately 19 celebrities total in 2007. From the USO letter:

Just through September of this year, we produced 37 overseas tours with 241 performances for 98,000 troops in 14 countries, 9 stateside tours, 15 celebrity education events for military dependents, and 48 celebrity visits to military hospitals. … For 2007, we expect to take approximately 19 celebrities to Afghanistan and more than 35 to Iraq.

If you really want to support America’s service men and women and their families, please set the record straight (both on your show and with the AP) on the work the USO is doing right now on behalf of the nation’s troops and encourage your viewers to support the USO.

Additionally, providing entertainment is just 20 percent of USO’s work supporting the troops. It also operates 132 service centers around the world (including one in Afghanistan) and coordinates amenities such as phone cards, care packages, and more.

USO Vice President of Communications Mark Phillips told ThinkProgress that they are in talks with O’Reilly’s producers to come on the show and discuss the organization’s work. “We’re doing some great work over there, and we’d like folks to know about what we’re doing, and would certainly like to do more,” Phillips said.

Find out more about how you can support America’s troops HERE.

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