This is not a good Thanksgiving story for the Pentagon.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases. Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back. One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills. He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq. It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started. 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.

Tip for the Pentagon. If this really is the policy, beat the rush and fix it now.

Update: The Pentagon beat me to it:

KDKA contacted the Pentagon. Investigators there took a look. A military spokesman told KDKA’s Marty Griffin the bill sent to Fox was a mistake.
Griffin asked Army Spokesperson Major Nathan Banks if the government was taking on Fox’s case. Banks said via phone, “We are. We are … definitely working it out. We have seen where the problems have been made, the system, and we’re just making – you know, give us the opportunity to make a wrong a right.”
Major Banks says Fox will not have to pay back his bonus. Fox says “fine,” but he wants more.

Update II: My apologies to the gang in The Tank. They’ve been on this for a day.

Update III: Here’s video of the Pentagon responding to the story.