After Meeting with Sec. Panetta, John Kline Updates Minnesota National Guard General Nash

Press Release

Congressman John Kline met with Minnesota National Guard General Richard Nash today to update him on efforts in Washington to ensure promises made to our Minnesota National Guard and tens of thousands of American troops are kept. Kline met with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta last week and continues to press the Pentagon to ensure Minnesota soldiers receive the full benefits they have earned.

After more than 2,000 Minnesota soldiers were deployed last year, the Pentagon made a change to the Post Deployment/ Mobilization Respite Absence Program (PDMRA) program, significantly reducing their earned leave and providing less time for service members to spend with their families and look for a job after a long deployment. Kline, who last month was awarded the AMVETS "Silver Helmet" award for his loyalty and dedication to America's veterans, is advancing legislation to fix the problem, but he asked Sec. Panetta for an immediate fix to avoid unnecessary delays for the Minnesota Guard.

"You don't move the goal posts in the middle of the game; you don't change the policy after the soldiers have deployed under one set of the rules," Kline said this morning on WCCO Morning News with John Hines. "Our soldiers are angry and feel betrayed… It was very clear in Sec. Panetta's mind these soldiers should have been grandfathered."

Kline joined General Nash this morning at the 133rd Airlift Wing in St. Paul (photos at right) to welcome home members of the Minnesota National Guard after a lengthy deployment to Kuwait.

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