{"id":37049,"date":"2017-08-26T13:26:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-26T13:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/26\/17k-california-guard-soldiers-will-keep-disputed-bonuses\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:13:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:13:49","slug":"17k-california-guard-soldiers-will-keep-disputed-bonuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/2017\/08\/26\/17k-california-guard-soldiers-will-keep-disputed-bonuses\/","title":{"rendered":"17K California Guard soldiers will keep disputed bonuses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 More than 17,000 California National Guard soldiers won\u2019t have to repay more than $190 million in enlistment bonuses and other payments handed out in error between 2004 and 2010, the Pentagon has determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision closes several years of wrangling over whether soldiers should be forced to pay back the money after an audit revealed the Guard was overpaying bonuses as it faced pressure to hit enlistment goals during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Top California lawmakers in Congress successfully pushed last year for the Pentagon to waive the repayments unless it could provide evidence a solider knew or should\u2019ve known they weren\u2019t eligible for the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Pentagon report found the vast majority of the 17,485 soldiers who got bonuses and loan aid totaling more than $190 million won\u2019t have to pay it back or will be refunded if they already did. The report, given to the U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committees on July 31, was first reported Friday by the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am pleased that an overwhelming majority of the service members affected by the California National Guard\u2019s bonus clawback will be able to get their bonuses back,\u201d Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement. \u201cThese enlistment bonuses and other benefits were accepted in good faith and were given in exchange for serving the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican Rep. Jeff Denham, who helped craft the legislation requiring the Pentagon evaluation, criticized the U.S. Department of Defense for taking so long to \u201cadmit their mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe men and women who wear the cloth of this nation deserve the security of knowing that the country they swore an oath to protect has their back at the end of their service,\u201d Denham told the Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guard paid out $194.6 million in bonuses and $6.4 million in student loan repayments between 2004 and 2010 to California soldiers, the report found. More than 1,400 soldiers had been asked to pay back the debt when former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter suspended the recoupment plan in late 2016. An additional 16,000 who were given bonuses during the same time period were included in the Pentagon\u2019s review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201coverwhelming majority\u201d of soldiers given bonuses \u2014 a total of 17,092 \u2014 won\u2019t be asked to pay back any money or will receive a refund.<\/p>\n\n\n\t