Thousands of soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war

If I understand this article correctly scores of Soldiers in the CA Guard signed what they were told were perfectly legitimate contracts that included incentives such as bonuses and student loan repayment. Years later Big Army determined that these incentives never should have been awarded (despite what the Soldier was told at the time) and recouped these incentives (despite the fact that the Soldier had already served the entirety of their contract). Sounds like the Army screwed up royally on this, but of course the Soldier is the one who gets the shaft in the end.