An Iowa National Guard spokesman says the Iowa unit is not implicated in the recruiting scandal being investigated by Congress. Hundreds of National Guard recruiters and soldiers are under investigation for illegally taking more $29 million in bonuses for signing up recruits.
Colonel Greg Hapgood says Iowans were not involved. “Every state was required to do an investigation following allegations of misuse of this program. When the Iowa National Guard conducted their investigation, we found no wrongdoing in the State of Iowa with respect to this program,” Hapgood said.
The investigation in Iowa, roughly 18 months ago, was conducted by a General officer with federal oversight by the Army National Guard and the National Guard Bureau. The program in question was shut down by the Army in 2012.
Although guard recruiters were barred from receiving bonuses, they allegedly conspired with guard soldiers and others, known as “recruiter assistants,” to share bonuses for new recruits. U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, calls it “one of the biggest fraud investigations in Army history.”