PENTAGON RENEGES ON BONUS PROMISE

Pentagon officials said late last year that they would pay a $15,000 bonus to National Guard and Army Reserve members who extended their enlistments by six years.

They lied.

From the News-Tribune in Tacoma:

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, confirmed the bonuses had been canceled, saying they violated Pentagon policies because they duplicated other programs. She said Guard and Reserve members would be eligible for other bonuses.

Krenke said some soldiers had been paid the re-enlistment bonuses, but she was unsure how many or whether the money would have to be repaid.

National Guard members who extended their enlistments until the program should be free to cancel their contracts. But that would probably violate Pentagon policy, too.