The Pentagon is demanding that soldiers repay bonuses of $15,000 or more given to them as an incentive to reenlist and go to war in the mid-2000s.
The California National Guard gave the bonuses to nearly 10,000 soldiers as part of a recruitment method to meet enlistment goals, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The order came after a federal investigation revealed that lack of oversight within the California National Guard had led to fraud and overpayment, the Times reported. Bonuses were given to soldiers who did not qualify for them, the investigation found.
Soldiers have since been ordered to repay their bonuses, prompting many to accuse the military of wrongly punishing them with a financial burden.