Opinion: Lesson of the enlistment bonus crisis: Bring back the military draft

To the editor: With 4,400-plus U.S. dead, the carnage continues in Iraq partly because President Obama doesn’t know how to fight a war and most of the members of the Senate and Congress have never seen combat. That’s because we choose our youth to die for us. Members of Congress today have limited experience with the horrors of war. (“Defense secretary orders Pentagon to stop seeking repayment of California National Guard bonuses,” Oct. 26)

Young men who volunteer to put their lives on the line for us should not be harassed into repaying enlistment bonuses. Obama and members of Congress should be raising hell with the Pentagon over the bonus recall. Anything less is a political travesty.

There was a time in America’s history when service in a time of war was mandatory for most men thanks to the draft. It was eliminated after the Vietnam War for a time, and then registration for the Selective Service System was brought back with a volunteer armed forces. It was a cynical move by the government to appease the population segment opposed to the draft while at the same time building our armed forces with volunteers who might have been misled about what they had enlisted to do.

Tom Pincu, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I’m glad that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has at least suspended the enlistment bonus repayments of the California National Guard soldiers, but here is what really needs to be done:

Return all of the payments made, plus interest. Restore any blemished credit ratings caused by this bureaucratic incompetence. Apologize to our soldiers.

Suspend Carter’s pay until this issue is fully resolved. A July 1st, 2017, deadline is an insult to soldiers.

Rick Kern, Incline Village, Nev.

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To the editor: This is a very encouraging development regarding a horrible attempt to make our patriots return the pay they rightfully earned.

But high up in The Times’ article was this shocker: “Aides made clear they didn’t intend to issue a blanket waiver for tens of millions of dollars in irregular bonuses and other payments given to California Guard soldiers, however, as some members of Congress have urged.”

For God’s sake, let’s save our country’s honor by not only stopping all efforts to make our brave men and women pay back money they rightfully deserve, but immediately putting in place a program to pay back all monies already collected (including interest). The president, Congress and the Pentagon —especially the sadly reluctant Carter — all need to be behind this.

They also must make sure that such a shameful “punishment” will never again be imposed on those who willingly put their lives on the line for the sake of democracy.

Bonnie Compton Hanson, Santa Ana

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To the editor: I hope that when we finally have a woman as our president, maybe the United States will no longer go around starting expensive and useless wars, making it no longer necessary to convince poor young men and women to risk their lives so they can receive a bonus.

But regarding this story, it was cowardly and wrong for the Pentagon to have threatened veterans, who kept their promises, by reneging on our promise to them.

Cheryl Clark O’Brien, Long Beach

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