Defense Secretary Halts Repayment of Bonuses
ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We were operating within the law and I am operating within my authorities to suspend collections, starting now, and I'm exercising those authorities.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, big update on the story we've been covering all week about National Guard members having to repay their reenlistment bonuses. That was Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ordering the Pentagon to stop seeking those repayments of bonuses. He has set a July first deadline for this to be resolved. Joining us now to discuss this, as well as the battle in Mosul, is CNN military analyst and former Army commanding general, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling. General, great to see you this morning.</s>LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Alisyn.</s>CAMEROTA: Before we get into it, I just must say the power of the press, OK? General, we have covered this every single day here on NEW DAY, as well as throughout CNN, as well as other journalists at other networks. And after Congress had years and they didn't fix this problem, the media shined a light on it and now the problem is fixed. So all the people who say they don't like the media, put that in your pipe and smoke it.</s>HERTLING: Well, I love the media, Alisyn, and you are great, and you and Chris are super up there. But here's what I'll tell you. This is an ugly baby. That's how most soldiers would describe it and it's been that way for a couple of years because it's been passed back and forth between the State of California, the Pentagon, and the Congress. And the perception issues on what's going on -- I think Mr. Carter, the Secretary of Defense, did exactly what he needed to do, suspend the collections and suspend the recoup of the payment. But truthfully, it goes a lot deeper than that. There were a lot of commander involvments in the California Guard that committed fraud. Some of them have been punished. There were some soldiers who accepted money when they shouldn't have. And the question is, do they get to keep the money --</s>CAMEROTA: Right.</s>HERTLING: -- that they knew was falsely gained? And again, it has to do with what was the adjutant general of the State of California doing to make this known? What was the governor of California -- what was Congress doing if they found out about it? And, in fact, it falls right on the lap of the Secretary of Defense and he had to make the hard call this week to say hey, stop this nonsense. Let's not take away money. Let's figure it out and hold the right people accountable.</s>CAMEROTA: I mean, look, we've talked to National Guard members who had retired. They had to pay these back to the tune of tens of thousands --</s>HERTLING: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: -- sometimes $40,000 they had to remortgage -- to get a second mortgage on their home. What does happen to these people who've already had the hardship of paying back the bonuses?</s>HERTLING: Well, they can -- they can readdress grievances and ask for a recoup of the money that was taken away from them under Sec. Carter's plan. But, again, let's go back to the power of the press. Has the press talked to this soldiers who knowingly took money falsely and talked to the commanders who gave it? So, that's the rest of the story. And, really, this is all about accountability. And having spent a good portion of my life in the military -- I was thinking of making it a career after 37 years -- you always have to take responsibility and hold yourself accountable for these things. And that's the rest of the story that's not being covered, is we say oh, gee, those poor soldiers. Yes, there are certainly some poor soldiers who were put in dire economic straits.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>HERTLING: But at the same time, there were probably some that knew exactly what they do -- they were doing, and they shouldn't have that money given back to them.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, we're on it. I hear your pitch and we will stay on this story, obviously, and update everybody on all sides of it. Let's talk about what's going on in Mosul. How do you think the battle to rid that city of ISIS is going?</s>HERTLING: Well, from all reports and from the comments I've been receiving from my friends, both on the Iraqi and Kurdish sides and the U.S. military side, it's going much better than they expected and faster than the plan had seen. But again, they all realize that they're still on the eastern side of the city of Mosul, which they knew was going to be the easier fight. They have not crossed over to the western side, across those five bridges that cross the Tigress River, and that's where the fighting is really going to get rough. And I believe that's where ISIS is going to hold their ground and fight to the death with suicide vests, car bombs, house-borne IEDs -- IED snipers moving around through the tunnels that are in that part of the city and the tough streets that are in the old town and near the airport. So the toughest part of the fight is yet to come but early indicators are that, first of all, the Iraqi security forces are acting -- as one of my Iraqi friends told me, instead of five fingers, they're acting as one fist, and they're going after the enemy. That's a good thing because it indicates that that Army has come back to the fray and they're receiving government support from the Iraqi Central Government in Baghdad. So all of that is good, but there's a lot left to do, not only in the fighting but what happens in the humanitarian relief efforts afterwards.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, absolutely. General Mark Hertling, thanks so much. Great to talk to you this morning.</s>HERTLING: Always a pleasure, Alisyn. Thank you.</s>CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Chris.</s>CUOMO: The Hispanic vote is expected to be pivotal on this Election Day, especially in the battleground states like Florida, Nevada. Which way do we think Latinos will go? Let's discuss, next.