'Hard stop': States could lose National Guard virus workers

[highplainsdem]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Politico

More than 40,000 National Guard members currently helping states test residents for the coronavirus and trace the spread of infections will face a “hard stop” on their deployments on June 24 — just one day shy of many members becoming eligible for key federal benefits, according to a senior FEMA official.

The official outlined the Trump administration’s plans on an interagency call on May 12, an audio version of which was obtained by POLITICO. The official also acknowledged during the call that the June 24 deadline means that thousands of members who first deployed in late March will find themselves with only 89 days of duty credit, one short of the 90-day threshold for qualifying for early retirement and education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI bill.

The looming loss of crucial frontline workers, along with questions about whether the administration is shortchanging first responders, would require a delicate messaging strategy, the official — representing FEMA’s New England region — told dozens of colleagues on the interagency call.

“We would greatly benefit from unified messaging regarding the conclusion of their services prior to hitting the 90-day mark and the retirement benefit implications associated with it,” the official said.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/19/national-guard-coronavirus-267514

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More viciousness from the Trump admin...and just what you'd expect from a businessman known for cheating everyone he could cheat.

[C_U_L8R]

1. One day short

Trump stiffs our Guardsmen. What an asshole.

[KSNY]

2. and no doubt will blame the governors.

Shame on him (once again).

[gab13by13]

3. They will still vote for him.

[Texin]

10. Maybe not. Likely not. When people get real-time stiffed, they notice it.

This is way too obvious for even the most oblivious to miss it.

[TNNurse]

4. I really cannot check my blood pressure after reading this.

[Igel]

5. "Vicious," perhaps.

But originally it was only until 5/31. The extension was added by request, the OP points out. And nothing keeps states from redeploying the guardsfolk. That's part of the package's contents.

The entire call-up was run the way it was for the sole purpose of shifting the financial burden of states' calling up their national guard units from state funding to federal funding. Which also gets put into the same box, however we label it.

I also don't know about the details. NY's national guard was deployed earlier and will hit the 90-day limit a week before the cut-off. Others were likely deployed later, and won't get near it. But details, while crucial, are cumbersome.

[SergeStorms]

6. Yet Trump will crow about...

how much he loves the troops in political ads, and his slobbering, mind-numbingly ignorant death-cult followers will believe him, without question. Why? Because he said said it, and he's given the Pentagon carte blanch when every other government department's budget has been slashed. Yep, he loves the troops. As always, watch what Trump does, and don't listen to a damned word he says!

Trump is a slimy, lying, con-man.

[underpants]

7. Wow that's really cold.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. It's always been that way.

Back when I was drafted -- okay, technically my enlistment was a "draft-induced enlistment" -- you had to have 181 days on active duty to be eligible for the GI Bill, VA mortgages, and so on. Not active duty for training, but active duty.

Regular National Guard did not qualify. This was not a secret.

[llmart]

11. Benefits??

In my younger days, I was married to a guy who enlisted in the National Guard (like you, to avoid being drafted and sent to Nam) and we got zero benefits for the six years he was in. I think he got $50 a month pay.

[JudyM]

12. Locking

Analysis of what may happen a month from now. Please consider reposting in GD rather than LBN, which has these restrictions on starting threads:

Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.