by Aaron Park
Congressman Doolittle Co-Sponsored three bills in the last congress that fix critical flaws in the Veteran system.
1.) No longer denying enlistment bonuses to injured soldiers returning home before they served the two years to get the bonus.
2.) Paid for education for disabled veterans was extended...
3.) A bill preventing the arbitrary extension of someone's service committment once it is almost done. Jack - I am sure you remember Vietnam and how people would get extended just as they thought they were getting out...
Merry Christmas!!!
Aaron are you 100% sure that Mr. Doolittle co-authored these bills or did he merely vote in favor of them? I take the word "co-sponsored" as meaning he was a major element in the creation of the bill.
Please clarify. Thank you.
Regarding item #3, as a veteran of the era 1969-70, I can tell you from first-hand experience that it was not a matter of being arbitrarily extended at all. There was an Army policy that if you returned to the U.S. from duty in a combat zone with less than 5 months remaining on your total enlistment or draftee time, you would get an early discharge from active duty. As it worked out, for a grunt draftee like me looking at a sentence of 24 months, after your initial stateside training and a one-year tour on the DMZ, if you voluntarily extended for just 31 days, you would achieve 19 months of active duty and return home a free man. It was strictly voluntary, but for an involuntary draftee, you would be a fool not to take advantage of it.