1. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 03-23-2007 #5 -- HOW SPECIALIST JON TOWN LOST HIS BENEFITS -- They call it a Personality Disorder, a PD, and it's an easy way for the military and the VA to save billions in benefits.nf032307-5.htm
... body, the other against the US Army. Both began in October 2004 in ... tossed the 25-year-old Army specialist to the floor, where he .... By September 2006 he and the Army agreed he was no longer combat- ..." Town was then booted from the Army and told that under a personality disorder ... expenses. The Fine Print In the Army's separations manual it's ... a slice of his re-enlistment bonus as well. That amount is often ... injured vets learn that they owe the Army several thousand dollars. One military official ... they'll get to keep their bonus and receive disability and medical benefits.... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAR07/nf032307-5.htm
... and Stripes ARLINGTON, Va. The Army is expanding its $1,000 recruiting referral bonus program to include retirees. The referral bonus pilot program, which began Jan. ... enlistment can be with either the active Army, Army National Guard or the Army Reserves. Since the $1,000 referral bonus began in January, the Army has gotten about 5,000 referrals... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old newsflashes JUN 06/newsflash06-04-2006-1.htm
... Ghraib prison for coalition forces. Former Army Sgt. Jeana Torgerson can't ... a prison cell in Washington state, Army Pvt. Adam Kaplan is haunted by ... to losing a limb, yet the army does not acknowledge it with a Purple ... acknowledge their PTSD. Another says the Army watched him spiral into drug addiction, ... alone in his assertions. Fighting the Army Jeana Torgerson says she loves the Army so much she had planned to serve ... admitted to Evans U.S. Army Hospital on Fort Carson for review. Soon, the Army began actions to discharge her. "... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old newsflashes APR 06/newsflash04-14-2006-8.htm
... to try to ensure that thousands of bonus-qualified recruits aren't harmed ... to try to ensure that thousands of bonus-qualified recruits, and thousands of ..., or Congress clears separate legislation restoring bonus and pay authorities, the services must ... service members from unintended consequences of the bonus limbo. They want to make sure ... war zone tax exemptions to apply to bonus contracts whose signing must be delayed until members return to home bases and bonus authority is restored. With no authorization ... days of December. The effect of bonus suspensions on recruiting is a bigger worry, said Carr. Army officials said recruits have not been discouraged... http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJAN08/nf011308-6.htm
... Printer-Friendly Version REPAYMENT OF ENLISTMENT BONUS PROBLEM DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ... wounded soldier was asked to repay a bonus, and those turned out to be ... repay a large chunk of his enlistment bonus, and Congress was outraged. Lawmakers ... wounded soldier was asked to repay a bonus, and those turned out to be ... wounded soldier was asked to repay a bonus, and those turned out to be ... Most recently, Jordan Fox, an Army sniper from Mount Lebanon, Pa. ... $2,800 of his enlistment bonus. A similar case, involving a veteran whose bonus payments were cut off, was found... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfDEC07/nf120607-4.htm
6. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 06-18-2007 #1 -- THE WAR INSIDE -- Troops are retuning from the battlefield with psychological wounds, but the mental health system that serves them makes healing difficult.nf061807-1.htm
... and Anne Hull Washington Post Staff Writers Army Spec. Jeans Cruz helped capture Saddam ... from Iraq, he confided to an Army counselor. He was hounded by recurring ... children. In public, the former Army scout stood tall for the cameras and ... psychological problems existed before he joined the Army. They also said that Cruz had ...s living-room wall. The Army Commendation Medal With Valor for "meritorious ... VA decision, or to make the Army correct the sloppy errors in his medical ... [story, A13]; and Army Pfc. Joshua Calloway, who spent eight months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and left barely changed from... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfJUN07/nf061807-1.htm
... SOLDIERS FIND A NICHE IN THE NEW ARMY -- Jorge, a father, ... Older soldiers find a niche in new Army BY CAROL ROSENBERG As the South Florida ... strip mall in December to join the Army. He was told to shed 50 ... financial crisis may be subtly aiding the Army, which struggled to meet its recruitment ...' because Congress in 2006 raised the Army's age cap from 35 to ... help build a more mature, discerning Army less reliant on bonuses and waivers for ... benefits and announced plans to grow the Army and Marines, which together make up ... he has handled three 40-something Army enlistments in recent months. The two... http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfmar09/nf030209-6.htm
... and murdering her family, entered the Army with a criminal record for minor offenses ... service. When Green applied for the Army in 2005, a court record noted ... agent. Green was discharged from the Army 'due to a personality disorder, ... Miller, station commander for the local Army recruiting office. Still, Midland presents ... seemingly endless line of applicants to the Army recruiting station. These days, his ... intoxication. Three months later, the Army processed his application and it was accepted ... He told the Bee he joined the Army to help pay off his student loans ... received a $15,000 signing bonus for joining and required waivers for his... http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUL08/nf071708-2.htm
9. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 09-16-2007 #8 -- WOUNDED SOLDIER'S FAMILY FEELS FORGOTTEN AS HIS CARE GETS TANGLED IN MILITARY SYSTEM -- Now the Hinkles are tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and they may lose their ranch.nf091607-8.htm
... Predeployment photos, like this one of Army Spc. Ronald Hinkle, are given ... Soldier's Family Feels Forgotten by Army by Howard Berkes This is the first ... Things Considered, Two years ago, Army Specialist Ronald Hinkle left a good trucking ... his family feels otherwise deserted by the Army. The U.S. Army failed to provide all the benefits and ... to Ron's enlisting in the Army which he did out of the blue ... for kidney and pancreas transplants. The Army assigned Ron to the closest post, ..., she remains frustrated at how the Army has responded. "For him to... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfSEP07/nf091607-8.htm
... of her son, Nicholas, an Army scout. Nicholas' girlfriend, Brittany ... 8 years old, wearing an oversize Army helmet and camouflage shirt and pants. ...He was a big shopper at the Army-Navy store," his mother ... family in Dillon when he joined the Army in 2004. That explains another photo ... on leave from his duties as an Army scout in Iraq. In that photo ... but obviously proud, showing off his Army uniform and the 101st Airborne patch on ... not be fit for combat. The Army's duty is to fight, she said, and the Army's tendency is to do everything... http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJAN08/nf012408-6.htm
