Military Interpreters Hit Hard By Retracted Bonuses

Several current and former military interpreters attached to the California National Guard are now claiming that the Federal Government has gone back on it’s contractual promise to pay out bonuses to Arabic, Dari, or Pashto speakers.

The National Guard originally implemented enlistment bonuses to attract more applicants to fill a desperate need for battlefield interpreters in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bonus amounts varied, but ranged as high as $20,000, reports NY Daily News.

In some cases, The National Guard even enlisted men who were physically unfit to serve.

The LA Times estimates that at least 44 interpreters were denied full contract-mandated bonuses because they were deemed unfit to serve, though many of those individuals have already completed their terms of service.

Recruiters allegedly misinformed applicants by telling them that the basic requirements for enlistment were soft limits, and that translators could serve despite health conditions, old age, or poor aptitude test scores.

The alleged contract violations go beyond short-changing the small group of veterans who served as interpreters.

In many cases, National Guard vets are being forced to repay bonuses awarded to them a decade ago.

Since an audit revealed the California National Guard had been enlisting people in spite of disqualifying criteria, the Pentagon has asked approximately 9,700 California veterans and active soldiers to repay promised bonuses.

Approximately 2,000 soldiers were asked to repay bonuses because they were technically unfit to serve, and approximately 7,700 soldiers were asked to repay bonuses because of administrative errors.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has since stated that he has suspended efforts to repeal financial bonuses and expressed an intent to start a program to review individual veteran cases from January to July 2017.

”Ultimately, we will provide for a process that puts as little burden as possible on any soldier who received an improper payment through no fault of his or her own,” said Secretary Carter.

”At the same time, it will respect our important obligation to the taxpayer.”

A lawsuit filed by attorney Daniel C. Willman on behalf of National Guard Sargent Bryan Strother claims that the time line proposed by Secretary Carter is unrealistic, explains CBS News.

Willman explains that critiquing every grievance within six months is unfeasible, as it took fully 4 years to complete an appeal process for Stother alone.  

Sources: NY Daily News/CBS News, The LA Times (2)/Photo Credit: The U.S. Army/Flickr