Thousands of soldiers in the California national guard, many of whom served active duty tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, are being asked to pay back large enlistment bonuses they received as much as 12 years ago. Overpayments occurred in every state during this period, according to the National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon agency that oversees state guard organizations. In 2012, a former bonus and incentive manager for the California national guard, retired master sergeant Toni Jaffe, was jailed for 30 months for filing false claims. Even state guard officials acknowledged to the Times that the attempt to collect was unfair. “At the end of the day, the soldiers ended up paying the largest price,” Maj Gen Matthew Beevers, deputy commander of the California guard, told the Times.

Source: The Guardian October 22, 2016 21:25 UTC