Lurker, it's pretty obvious you didn't read the article.  The "Pentagon" doesn't create the legislation, it just follows it.

Taint wrote:

I ran across a story about this yesterday...

I edited my post to include Dhal's link, in the interest of 'fair reporting,' if nothing else. The upshot of the VetVoice article was "Blame Congress (or a computer glitch), not the Pentagon." There's always someone else to point the finger at, to avoid responsibility for oversight and correction. Whether it's deporting the parents of enlisted servicemen "on a path to citizenship" or admitting the criminal and/or retarded to their ranks (but not teh gheyz, and we can probably forego denial of benefits and improper medical care, as that's a hallmark of the past few wars), I figured little more could surprise me. I guess I was wrong.

Hi Dhal!

Happy Slaughtered Roaming Meat Day!