Defense Secretary Ashton Carter suspends enlistment bonus clawback

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered the temporary suspension Wednesday of efforts to force members of the California National Guard to repay re-enlistment bonuses.

"There is no more important responsibility for the Department of Defense than keeping faith with our people," Carter said in a statement. "That means treating them fairly and equitably, honoring their service and sacrifice, and keeping our word."

Carter said he is ordering the military to take several steps to ensure "fair treatment" for thousands of members of the National Guard who may have received enlistment bonuses and tuition assistance for which they were not eligible, either as a result of error, or, in some cases, "criminal behavior by members of the California National Guard."

Specifically, he has ordered a team of senior Department of Defense officials, led by Peter Levine, the senior personnel official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, to assess the situation and establish a centralized process to resolve the cases in question. The objective, Carter said, will be to make a decision in all cases as soon as possible, and no later than July 1, 2017.

"While some soldiers knew or should have known they were ineligible for benefits they were claiming, many others did not," said Carter.

About 2,000 National Guard members have been asked to repay bonuses they were not eligible to receive, Carter said. Many have contested the military's attempt to force them to repay the bonuses.

"I want to be clear," said Carter. "This process has dragged on too long, for too many service members. Too many cases have languished without action. That's unfair to service members and to taxpayers. The steps I've outlined are designed to meet our obligations to both, and to do so quickly."

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that close to 10,000 members of the California National Guard were being asked to return re-enlistment bonuses of $15,000 or more that they received when they signed up for another tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan a decade ago, when the United States was experiencing a shortage of troops.