To: The Florida State House, The Florida State Senate, Governor Ron DeSantis, The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Donald Trump
Stop unnecessary military bonus recoupments
In the soldiers creed it’s states we are trained and proficient at our warrior tasks and drills. Soldiers are trained to have honor and integrity.
Why is this important?
I’m a veteran like many others facing a problem with a bonus recoupment. I swore in May 2007 trying to follow my oldest sisters footsteps. I completed my training and that’s when I received first half of my bonus. I signed for a 20,000 bonus and knew I wouldn’t get the second half till I completed half my contract of 3 years active. In 2010, I received the second half during my pre mobilization training to go to Afghanistan. I completed my contract of 6 years active and 2 inactive and now have an honorable discharge. I enjoyed my service and had many experiences. Not all of those experiences were fun. On June 29th I received a letter from DFAS stating I owed money back from a recoupment. I did research and got in touch with the state of Iowa. They gave me a contact who was in charge of my case and he never heard of such a thing. I’m having to pay back the money from my bonus due to a date being signed two months after swearing in. The sergeant who signed with me and my old recruiter said they had no idea this would happen. They said they would help me but have had no help from the incentive office. I’ve tried calling lawyers and asking anyone to point me in the right direction and now it’s come to this to spread the word. Soldiers are being asked to pay bonuses promised to them after fulfilling their contracts. We are willing to sacrifice for our country but our government is greedy for money that was promised as a bonus. I’m a mother of three young boys and will end up homeless because of the greed of our government. I did what I asked when I joined and now 11 years later being attacked for money and not even given a chance to fight back for what I feel is right. This recoupment was placed on my credit report before I was given the full 30 days to figure out what to do. I have paperwork to show all this to be true. I need support to spread the word. All Americans need to know the truth of how veterans are being treated. We were willing to sacrifice our lives so let us keep our money.