Team Infidel
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Des Moines Register
October 20, 2007 By Jane Norman, Register Washington Bureau
Washington, D.C. - The Army is speeding the process for helping Iowa National Guard members obtain GI Bill benefits that were shortchanged, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ia., said Friday.
Latham said some 575 Iowa Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers from northeast Iowa were affected, and the Army has said the process should take four weeks instead of the normal several months.
They are members of the Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, who were part of a Minnesota team mobilized in September 2005. In all, some 3,709 soldiers from 34 states were shortchanged, Latham said.
The Army has set aside a special team at the Army Board for Corrections of Military Records to assist the soldiers, who were part of a combat unit deployed nearly two years in Iraq. A team at the Veterans Administration has been formed as well.
In addition, Latham said $20,000 has been set aside to help the Iowa National Guard process the paperwork.
"While I appreciate the Army's quick explanation, I still maintain the need for a thorough investigation of this issue so that we can find out exactly what went wrong and make sure soldiers continue to have complete confidence in the Army," Latham said in a statement.
Because of the way the soldiers' individual orders were written, many soldiers would not be eligible for full educational benefits under Chapter 30 of the Montgomery GI Bill, even though they served the required amount of time on active duty.
Each soldier has individual orders, and in some cases they were on active duty for 725 to 729 days, short of the 730 days required.
Latham said all of the affected soldiers will be contacted individually by the Guard and encouraged to file to have their orders changed.
October 20, 2007 By Jane Norman, Register Washington Bureau
Washington, D.C. - The Army is speeding the process for helping Iowa National Guard members obtain GI Bill benefits that were shortchanged, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ia., said Friday.
Latham said some 575 Iowa Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers from northeast Iowa were affected, and the Army has said the process should take four weeks instead of the normal several months.
They are members of the Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, who were part of a Minnesota team mobilized in September 2005. In all, some 3,709 soldiers from 34 states were shortchanged, Latham said.
The Army has set aside a special team at the Army Board for Corrections of Military Records to assist the soldiers, who were part of a combat unit deployed nearly two years in Iraq. A team at the Veterans Administration has been formed as well.
In addition, Latham said $20,000 has been set aside to help the Iowa National Guard process the paperwork.
"While I appreciate the Army's quick explanation, I still maintain the need for a thorough investigation of this issue so that we can find out exactly what went wrong and make sure soldiers continue to have complete confidence in the Army," Latham said in a statement.
Because of the way the soldiers' individual orders were written, many soldiers would not be eligible for full educational benefits under Chapter 30 of the Montgomery GI Bill, even though they served the required amount of time on active duty.
Each soldier has individual orders, and in some cases they were on active duty for 725 to 729 days, short of the 730 days required.
Latham said all of the affected soldiers will be contacted individually by the Guard and encouraged to file to have their orders changed.