Yesterday's Mankato Free Press and Rochester Post Bulletin carried news of National Guard soldiers from the area being deployed to Kosovo for peacekeaping and mine removal. This morning's update in the Post Bulletin included this paragraph:
The deployment comes at a time of increasing tensions in Kosovo, where some ethnic Albanians have rejected a United Nations plan intended to push the province toward statehood, arguing that it does not go far enough toward full independence.
No wonder then that Representative Walz objects to a move by Defense Secretary Gates to strip U.S. forces in Kosovo of their combat status--and the attendent benefits. The Post Bulletin reports this evening:
"I've got my more senior and powerful colleagues riled up about this, and we'll drop the hammer on this thing," Walz said.
According to a press release issued by Congressman Walz's office, reclassifying the status of the mission would cost Minnesota National Guard soldiers would face the following loss in combat benefits:
· $225 monthly combat pay
· Exemption from federal payroll taxes
· Free R&R flights home during their official leave periods
· Ability to apply for subsidized loans
· A possible loss of hazardous duty location pay
In Post Bulletin article, Walz notes that State Department employees going intothe region still receive a 20 percent pay increase when assigned to the region.
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Representative Tim Walz pledged to organize his colleagues in the U.S. House to oppose efforts by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to strip U.S. forces serving in Kosovo of their combat status.
A Department of Defense proposal to reclassify the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo as a "non-combat" mission would result in soldiers losing combat pay as well as the federal payroll tax exemption afforded to soldiers serving in combat zones. Walz said that this proposal would cost individual soldiers thousands of dollars, resulting in undue financial hardships for them and their families. He pledged to lead an effort in the U.S. House to oppose the DOD proposal.
"I approached several of my House colleagues when I heard the news and they were as outraged as I am," Walz said. "I hope that with a strong show of opposition from Members of Congress the Pentagon will drop this idea, and I intend to organize that opposition."
The DOD proposal would affect more than 1,500 U.S. soldiers currently serving in Kosovo, in addition to over 400 Minnesota National Guardsmen scheduled to be deployed to Kosovo to assist in peacekeeping operations this fall.
The DOD proposal would consider Kosovo a non-combat mission despite the fact that the Washington Post recently reported "rising tensions in the Balkans over Kosovo's ongoing bid for independence and frequent U.S. missions that involve dangerous interdictions of smuggling rings, raids on armed extremist groups and encounters with improvised bombs."
"This summer, the men and women of the Minnesota National Guard will answer a call requiring them to leave their civilian jobs for active duty service, which will result in a pay cut for many of these soldiers. Reclassification of their mission will lead to an even deeper pay cut and impose severe financial hardships on many of our National Guard soldiers and their families. This decision will be devastating for troop morale," said Rep. Tim Walz.
"Kosovo is still a very dangerous place, and it's revealing that the State Department's assessment is quite different than that of the Department of Defense: foreign service officers do earn hazardous duty pay when they are assigned to Kosovo. In addition to the terrible ethnic unrest there, the country is rife with landmines and other unexploded munitions," said Walz. "Ensuring that this mission remains classified as a combat mission is about more than an extra $225 in monthly pay for our soldiers - it is about doing right by those who risk their lives in defense of our country."
The Washington Post reports that "top military officers
in Europe have officially disagreed [with the proposal to remove combat
status,] but they have been told the change could come as early as
April 1." If the
peacekeeping mission in Kosovo is reclassified, Minnesota National
Guard soldiers would face the following loss in combat benefits: · $225 monthly combat pay
· Exemption from federal payroll taxes
· Free R&R flights home during their official leave periods
· Ability to apply for subsidized loans
· A possible loss of hazardous duty location pay
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