THEY SERVED LONGER than any other unit in Iraq -- active or reserve. It was October 2005 when the more than 2,000 National Guardsmen left their Minnesota homes, returning only late this summer.
Some left their jobs, some left their farms, and some left their schools. They had answered the call to serve and so for for nearly two years they missed births and birthdays, anniversaries and school plays, Christmas mornings and Thanksgiving dinners.
In place of these everyday joys, they patrolled in 120-degree heat, ate meals ready-to-serve, went without showers for days at a time, and wondered if each day could be their last.
Along the way they saw comrades fall -- some quite young -- who would never again get an email from home, feel the warm embrace of a friend, or see the smile of a child.
And when they returned they asked for no special treatment, just what was due, only to find they had been purposely left one day short...
As one tells it...
1st Lt. Jon Anderson says he never expected to come home to this: A government refusing to pay education benefits he says he should have earned under the GI bill.
"It's pretty much a slap in the face," Anderson said. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership, once again failing the soldiers."
Here's what happened: Anderson's orders, and the orders of 1,161 other Minnesota guard members, were written for 729 days. Had they been written for 730 days -- one day more -- the soldiers would receive those benefits to pay for school.
All 2,600 Minnesota National Guard soldiers who deployed with the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division will qualify for some benefits. But that one day denied means that half of them will get hundreds less each month, and a much shorter time to exercise them:
Those who qualify for Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Benefits can receive $894 per month to be used for education, after making a $1,200 down payment. The benefits are available up to 10 years after the soldiers leave the service.
Those who don't qualify, like the 1,162 from Minnesota who are recorded as serving 729 days or less, can receive $660 per month as full-time students through the Reserved Education Assistance Program (REAP). The benefits expire once the soldier leaves the service
Publicity, of course, will bring action. The Army Board for Correction of Military Records will be reviewing the cases. Secretary of the Army Geren has asked the board to expedite the issue. And so maybe they won't each have to file a personal appeal, since Geren has asked they be reviewed as a group.
But that doesn't change what the Army tried to do... sending them over to possibly lose all while certainly losing much, and then making sure it would fall one day short, that they not receive 'too much' in return.
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This diary by Spread the Word: Iraq-Nam.
For a more personal reflection on the subject, see the fine diary Serve your country, get shafted by the government, again