Supporting the troops

This speaks for itself.

Approximately 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard recently returned home after serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq. They served 22 months — “longer than any other ground combat unit” — recieved nine fatalities, and were awarded dozens of Purple Hearts.

But the Army wrote the orders for 1,162 of these soldiers for 729 days, making them ineligible for full educational benefits under the GI Bill, which requires written orders saying they were deployed for 730 days or more. These soldiers were shorted more than $200 per month for college.

This action will be reversed, but only because it’s high profile now and elected officials can score easy political points. This is their favorite kind of issue to get involved in — noncontroversial and unopposed by campaign donors.