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Ripped straight from the headlines, my next guest and his partner in the fight are going to bring you a story you wouldn’t believe unless you heard it from the source.

At the height of America’s forever wars, much like today, the military was desperate for fresh recruits. So like any good marketing campaign, the Army National Guard launched an incentive program designed to give recruiters bonuses for doing their job.

If you get people to raise their right hand and protect our nation, then you get a bonus.

Sounds simple enough, right?

However, the program was mishandled, with some recruiters using shady practices to bring in personnel.

The program was called G-RAP and was the most successful recruiting program in military history until it was characterized as the most significant fraud investigation.

Congress then puts pressure on the Army, so the program gets investigated, and because of shoddy procedural errors, more than 2,000 soldiers who were recruiting fairly were left as scapegoats.

The victims experienced delayed promotions and, worse than that, criminal records and were denied bank loans, job offers, and weapons permits.

So rather than being rewarded for their efforts, they were swooped up in a heartless system and spit back out. For over a decade, they faced the aftermath alone, and some are still dealing with the fallout.

So this coming Thursday, I get to chat with Gilberto De Leon, who stood up and spoke out on behalf of his brothers and sisters in arms. And I will interview Liz Ullman, the woman who partnered with Gilberto, who started a nonprofit and is now writing a book dedicated to fighting this travesty till justice is achieved.

These are the kinds of people who emulate what service is and giving back is all about - ones who do not back down when the fight comes to their doorstep.

Please join us - it’s a conversation on what it means to be a warrior and stand up speaking out when the system fails us.

And the case is still ongoing.

How you can help - https://defendourprotectors.com/

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76