Marine Corps Reservist Lt. Col. Rollin Jackson must repay the Corps almost $100,000 in housing allowances from when he served in San Diego.
According to Stars and Stripes, Corps officials told Jackson because of an error on their end, he'd been overpaid:
[T]he Marine Corps determined that Jackson owed $85,000 that he was paid for hotels and per-diem during his tenure in California.
The Marines also sent his government travel card statement, carrying a balance of $9,996.25, to a collection agency...
“There are Marines, junior Marines, who are also being harmed. There are many, many people out there in a similar situation as mine...”
Back in 2012, and swimming under a torrent of debt, Jackson emailed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, then-assistant commandant of the Marines Corps, for help. Dunford wrote back:
“Just wanted you to know we’re going to work this. There are apparently many cases like yours.”
But it's now 2014, Dunford has yet to receive any help in hammering out a solution.
Marine Corps spokeswoman Shawn Haney wrote in a statement to Stars and Stripes:
“The Marine Corps is well aware and actively working to resolve the issues for the existing affected members and establish long-term solutions to help prevent future issues..."
Do you think reservists should be on the hook for housing allowance accounting mistakes? Have your say in our comments section!
