Support The Troops! (Yank their pay)

Here comes another glowing example of how "supporting the troops" only counts for the troops that are actually "over there." Once they're injured, they're damaged goods and the military expects a refund:

[Jordan] Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.

A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.

"I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they're telling me they want their money back," he explained.

Pretty damn disgusting if you ask me. But I guess that is what you can expect from a society that sees everything like a football game. Win at any expense. "Supporting the troops" has become this inane phrase that amounts to nothing more than rooting for the team while they're on the field. If a player gets injured during play, he or she might get some applause during the haul to the ambulance. After that, it's back to victory at all costs. And FSM help the player that states the game wasn't really fun or necessary in the first place. Then, all of the people who were rabid fans yesterday, will heartily lynch today.

Here, you have a solider who was proud to serve his country and would do it again. It pains me to the point of nausea that I actually have to point out that getting blasted by a roadside bomb wasn't his fault. Hence, he deserves all of the fucking money he got when he joined. If the Pentagon wants $3,000 back, then they should give him his spine and eye back.

Update: Last month, Congressman Jason Altmire (D-PA) introduced legislation to address this very issue.

[H/T to ThinkProgress]