. >> reporter: chris van meter, a purple heart recipient, survived a roadside bomb in iraq and forced to refinance his home to repay $46,000 in bonuses. >> thousands of soldiers paying money back. >> reporter: ryan who served in iraq refused to pay. >> i felt totally betrayed. >> reporter: they waived his bonus repayment, but he's not dropping the case for the sake of his fellow soldiers. abc news, new york. >>> all right. thanks. unbelievable in some cases, the california national guard tells abc news it's waived repayment of $37 million of those bonuses, but many have already repaid them. >> many are continuing to pay them. some who, one particular woman rent payment or car payment every month to the army, $650 a month. >> that's the hard part. those who counted on this money after factoring into the day-to-day payments. >>> coming up, the self-proclaimed liberal redneck who's become a viral sensation. >> yeah. he is shaking up the notion of being both liberal and a redneck. you're watching "world news >>> "world news now" continues ? tell me, why they have to go and make things so

. >> reporter: chris van meter earned a purple heart in iraq. he's refinanced his home to cover the $46,000 the military says he shouldn't have gotten. >> i think we really got screwed. and i think it was a slap in the face. >> reporter: both were members of the california national guard, enticed by the more when the pentagon was trying to fill the all-volunteer force from 2006 to 2008. only after the incentives were paid did the pentagon realize not all soldiers qualified. >> in most cases, the soldiers didn't do anything wrong. >> reporter: the story first reported by the los angeles times involves about 10,000 soldiers who owe approximately $20 million. the vfw calls the efforts to get the money back insulting. >> this cannot stand forward now. that's why we asked the department of defense to waif all further outstanding debt for these veterans. >> reporter: tonight they're looking closely at this matter. these former soldiers say they're already paid. >> i'm proud i was able to support and defend the constitution. >> i did everything they as

. >> month after month we were eva: chris van meter, a purple heart recipient, survived a roadside bomb in iraq now forced to refinance his home to repay $46,000 in bonuses. >> you still have thousands of soldiers having to pay this money back. eva: but bryan strother who served in iraq refused to pay. >> i felt totally betrayed by my commanders. eva: after strother's filed a lawsuit, the pentagon waived his dropping his case. sheldon: a major offensive is underway. adrienne: we will have a behind the scenes look -- and melinda davenport will travel to new york. adrienne: him on world news. we go behind the scenes with davidmuir. sheldon: melinda davenport is back from new york and had a chance to sit down with them for a look of the stories behind the headlines. >> this is abc world news tonight. melinda: critics have called the ones watch. the team is buzzing, preparing for the broadcast. we are on the set of world news with david muir, taking you behind the scenes and i talked to david about what this election means for politics in wisconsin. david we are are bombarded with : informa

. >> chris van meter refinanced his house to cover a $46,000 bill. the white house says they'll get another chance to appeal. a fair hearing that for many soldiers has come at a very high price. controversy, defense secretary ash carter is also weighing in tonight on the fight against isis, as iraqi forces continue their push on mosul. carter is revealing that a new offensive will be launched within weeks on the isis capital in syria. nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nickels sat down exclusively with secretary carter today in paris. >> 11 days in and more than 2,000 coalition bombs, rockets appeared to hold their lines outside of mosul today, as iraqi forces moved more than 1,000 civilians out of harm's way. and u.s. secretary of defense ash carter telling nbc news in an exclusive interview that the u.s. and its allies are already looking across the border to syria, to the islamic state's self-proclaimed capital of raqqah. the plan? simultaneous campaigns against mosul and raqqah. >> it starts in the next few resourcing both. >> so the assault on

. >> while carterays some soldiers knew or should have known they were ineligible for >> chris van meter bill. the white house says they'll get another chance to appeal. a fair hearing that for many soldiers has come at a very high price. an thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> in addition to the bonus controversy, defense secry tonigh?t on the fight against isis, as iraqi forces continue eih on mosul. carter is revealing that a new offensive will be launched within weeks on the isis capital in syria. nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nickels sat down exclusively with secretary carter today in paris. >> 11 days in and more than tion bombs, rockets and shells. still, the state civilians out of haway. and u.s. secretary of defense ae telling n news in an exclusive interview te s. ats allies are already looking across the border to syria, to the islamic state's self-proclaimed capital of raqqah. the plan? siltaneous campaigns against mosul and raqqah. >> it starts in the next few weeks. and that's long been our plan resocing both. pable of >> so the assault eans t this r pl.' whateexha and

some like chris van meter already paid their debt. >> that was really tough to swallow. it really was. >> reporter: refinancing his house to cover a $46,000 bill. the white house says they will get another chance to appeal. >> presently it's those individuals that need to be treated fairly as well. >> reporter: a fair hearing that for many soldiers has come at a very high price. ann thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> in addition to the bonus controversy, defense secretary ash carter is also isis as iraqi forces continue their forces on mosul. they'll begin on the isis capital in syria in a few weeks. hans nichols sat down exclusively with secretary carter today in paris. >> reporter: 11 days in and more than 2,000 coalition bombs, rockets, and shells. still the islamic state appeared to hold their lines outside of moved more than 1,000 civilians out of harm's way. u.s. secretary of defense ash carter telling nbc news in an exclusive interview that the u.s. and its allies are already looking across the border to syria to the islamic state's self-proclaimed capital of rocca

sot - chris van meter: you to pay. sot - bryan struthers: i felt totally betrayed by my for the sake of his fellow soldiers. aircraft carrier - v that was eva pilgrim reporting. a washington think-tank says -- the world's most powerful military - makeover. the center for a new american security -- wants -- the pentagon -- to scrap its 40-billion dollar -- aircraft-carrier program. the center recommends -- canceling the ford-class aircraft carriers. instead -- they say -- spend the money -- on the b-21 bomber -- new submarines -- and the battle for mosul. intense fighting -- now underway. abc's -- martha raddatz -- reports -- iraqi and kurdish fighters -- backed by the u-s -- are closing in -- on the largest isis stronghold -- in iraq. script: the resistance has been fierce. nats a suspected isis suicide vehicle today speeding towards a convoy of advancing forces?those forces opening fire. after one narrow miss, then another, finally the car is struck, catching fire. nats the gunfire also intense saturday on the some of

. >> reporter: chris van meter, a purple heart recipient survived a roadside bomb in iraq, forced to refinance his home to repay $46,000 in bonuses. >> you have thousands of soldiers having to pay this money back. >> reporter: brian who also served in iraq, refused to pay. >> i felt totally betrayed by my commanders. >> reporter: after brian filed a lawsuit, the pentagon waived his bonus repayment. he's not dropping his case for the sake of his fellow soldiers. eva pilgrim, abc news, new york. >> amid the controversy, the california national guard tells abc news it's already waived repayment of $37 million in bonuses. as you can see, that doesn't mean everyone is now debt-free. >> thousands of soldiers are still on the hook for a lot of money. that's what's making news in america this monday morning. >> do stay with us for "good morning america." and come find us at atmfans.com. have great monday, everybody, right now on abc 15 morning, a live look outside. all clear. overnight the i-10 stack was shut down right up the interchange. we will tell you what dps is telling us right now. >

chris van meter said an extra six years and to serve his company. he had to repay $46,000. he joins us now from antigo. >> chris your circumstances, what did you think when you heard that the government wanted their money back?>> i was floored. quite honestly, i was beside myself. i had no idea what was going on. i thought it was a joke at first. to be honest with you, it was very overwhelming and frustrating >> you actually will pay this money. when did you get the notice they wanted the money back but >> i served in the military between the timeframe of 1992 and i retired in december 2013. i paid back $46,000 to the government in the summer/fall of 2014. >> how did you do that? that's a big chunk of change>> it is. my wife and i were getting bills from the government in and around $1300 per month. it was overwhelming. we couldn't pay that. it's really hard to sustain. we are blessed to have some equity in our home and we had to refinance our home to pay that off>> you shouldn't have to do that. when you think about guards men and women now being asked to be -- to do this c

. >> reporter: chris van meter, a purple heart recipient, survived a roadside bomb in iraq and forced to refinance his home to repay $46,000 in bonuses. >> thousands of soldiers paying money back. >> reporter: ryan who served in >> i felt totally betrayed. >> reporter: they waived his bonus repayment, but he's not dropping the case for the sake of his fellow soldiers. abc news, new york. >>> all right. thanks. unbelievable in some cases, the california national guard tells abc news it's waived repayment of $37 million of those bonuses, but many have already repaid them. >> many are continuing to pay them. some who, one particular woman who owes $20,000 has, like, a rent payment or car payment every month to the army, $650 a month. >> that's the hard part. those who counted on this money after factoring into the day-to-day payments. >>> coming up, the self-proclaimed liberal red neck who's become a viral sensation. >> yeah. he is shaking up the notion of being both liberal and a redneck. you're watching "world news >>> "world news now" continues after this from our abc ? ? ? tell me, w

. >> reporter: chris van meter, a former army sergeant, earned a purple heart in iraq.refinanced his home to cover the $46,000 the military says he shouldn't have gotten. >> i think we really got screwed. i think it was a slap in the face. >> reporter: both were members of the california national guard, entilesed by the guard to re-up with bonuses of $15,000 or more when the pentagon was trying to fill the all-volunteer force from 2006 to 2008. only after the incentives were paid did the pentagon realize not all soldiers qualified. >> in most cases the soldiers didn't do anything wrong. >> reporter: the story first reported by the "los angeles times" involves about 10,000 soldiers who owe approximately $20 million. the vfw calls the efforts to get the money back insulting. >> this cannot stand in the way that it's going forward now. that's why we ask the department of defense to waive all further outstanding debt for these veterans. >> reporter: the department of defense says the senior leadership of the department is looking very closely at this matter. these former so

. >> month after month we were eva: chris van meter, a purple heart recipient, survived a roadside bomb in iraq now forced to refinance his home to repay $46,000 in bonuses. >> you still have thousands of soldiers having to pay this money back. eva: but bryan strother who served in iraq refused to pay. >> i felt totally betrayed by my commanders. eva: after strother's filed a lawsuit, the pentagon waived his bonus repayment but he isn't dropping his case. sheldon: a major offensive is underway. adrienne: we will have a behind the scenes look -- and melinda davenport will travel to new york. you can never tell from the outside just how many warm, flaky layers are on the inside. but let's just say it's more an ever. share the warmth of grands biscuits, now with even more flaky layers. it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury. after 40 years of making soup at progresso, we've learned chicken is king. and so we're now using 100% antibiotic and hormone free white breast meat chicken in all of our chicken soups. adrienne: so many of us watch him on world news. we go behind the scenes with d

chris van meter served his country an kpla six years and was forced to pay back $46,000. >> you thinkoke. obviously it was not a joke. and it's gut wrenching because you have to figure out what you are going to do how you are going to survive i had a young family at the time. >> reporter: the california national guard shares the frustration but says it does not have authority to waive the debts. california congressman adam schiff today told usually has already written to the head of the california national guard asking any attempts to reclaim soldiers' bonus money be stopped until he and congress with can work out a solution. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> drew, what is the pentagon saying about this? why is this happening? >> this has been an ongoing issue for several years. there is even a bureaucratic process at the pentagon all set up to handling these issues one by one of the it's called the bonus audit and recoupment process. it's case by case. individual soldiers have to plead their case, prachs perhaps even hire a lawyer. today the pentagon says it's going to work for a better

inexplicably, the department of defense has gone after the soldiers to pay back their bonuses chris van meterved his country an extra 6 years, and was forced to pay back $46- thousand dollars. "you think it's a joke. and obviously it was not a joke. and -- and it's gut wrenching. because you have to figure out what you're going to do and how you're going to survive. i had a young family at the time." the california national guard shares the frustration - but says it does not have the authority to waive the debts. california congressman adam schiff today told cnn he has already written to the head of the california national guard asking that any attempts to re- claim soldiers' bonus money be stopped until he and congress can work out a solution. california "i think it is outrageous that the national guard soldiers are being asked to repay bonuses that they have every right to expect." >> steve:a defense department spokesman says affected soldiers can petition to have the debts waived. one soldier told c-n-n he has petitioned several times.but couldn't get a break. you've got one week to plan y

chris van meter served his country an extra six years and was forced to pay back $46,000. >> you thinkt's a joke. obviously it was not a joke. and it's gut-wrenching, you have to figure out what you're going to do and how you're going to survive. >> the california national guard shares the frustration. california congressman adam shift told cnn, he's already written to the head of the california national guard asking any attempts to reclaim soldiers bonus money be stopped. until he and congress can work out a solution. >> i think it's outrageous that the national guard soldiers are being asked to repay bonuses that they had every right to expect. >> drew, what's the pentagon saying about this, why is this happening. >> this has been an ongoing issue for several years. there's even a bureaucratic process at the pentagon, all set up to handle these issues, it's called the bonus audit and recoupment process, it's case by case, individual soldiers have to plead their case, perhaps even hire a lawyer. today the pentagon said it's going to look for a better solution, but it may have to come

van meter. he had to refinance his home to get the $46,000 the pentagon said he owed. chrise to "new day." >> hi, good morning. how are you? >> i'm well. so let's give people a little bit of your history. >> sure. >> in 1995 you went into the army. you served three deployments, you went to bosnia, you went to iraq. you went to kosovo. you got the purple heart. for your injuries. in iraq after you were thrown from an armored vehicle. >> that's correct, right. >> by 2007 you were ready to retire. but, the army asked you to re-enlist. so what inducements did they give you to make you want to do that? >> sure. it was actually 1992 to about 2007 i was in for about 15 years. and they entice you. they entice you with another re-enlistment bonus. those bonuses were in and around $15,000. as you know, we were in the iraq and afghanistan war at that time. and they wanted to keep soldiers in in the military to do great things. so they entice you with that $15,000, and i accepted that in february of 2007. >> okay, and you used that $15,000 -- >> of course, yes. >> and then when did you

erin: van ostern says one of the first things he would do would be to lift the net metering cap on solar power. meanwhile republican chris sununu is calling on governor maggie hassan and elected leaders to ban a new drug called pink is a form of fentanyl that is synthetically created and mixed with an elephant tranquilizer. speaking at the windham police department yesterday, sununu said the drug hasn't been seen here yet, but he believes it is coming. >> when you have this new drug that is 10 times more potent than fentanyl and resistant to narcan, i don't want my family and again your families our families in the state to have that worry of knowing that maybe our kids might be afflictewi this. and maybe our kids won't be the ones waking up tomorrow. erin: sununu also said the state needs to be more aggressive fighting drug trafficking. police and over are investigating the death of a 38-year-old woman but officer suspect it was a drug overdose. if toxicology results of i proved it would be the 11th deadly overdose in dover this year. the state on pace for nearly 500 overdose deaths this year. tomorrow is national drug