A day after Texas Scorecard reported ongoing pay issues related to Operation Lone Star (OLS), the Texas Military Department (TMD) admitted, “there are still numerous pay issues.”
This contradicts what Gov. Greg Abbott claimed days earlier when he said “all paycheck issues have been addressed.”
Last month, Texas Scorecard reported internal communications at the Texas Comptroller’s Office confirmed Texas Soldiers assigned to OLS were not being paid on time.
TMD told us that, as of January 7, all soldiers were getting paychecks with pay stubs, and on January 11, Gov. Abbott claimed “all paycheck issues have been addressed.”
On January 12, we reported multiple sources disputed this, telling us pay issues were ongoing. These issues ranged from soldiers missing paychecks from October, to fluctuating paycheck amounts and a lack of pay stubs.
We also reported on internal comptroller communications mentioning bureaucratic turnover and inexperience at TMD contributing to pay issues for Texas soldiers, including problems with direct deposits of paychecks.
Published a day later, according to Google, in an error-ridden “Morale Survey Update” TMD admitted that “there are still numerous pay issues,” and they are working daily to “resolve these problems.”
“To date every Soldier has been paid, but we recognize amounts may have not been correct,” wrote OLS Commander Brigadier General Ulis. “We are diligently working to make corrections to include direct deposits.”
On January 14, a source disputed this, telling Texas Scorecard there are still soldiers missing checks.
“This is the largest single TXNG mobilization in modern times which strained the TMD state payroll system,” Ulis wrote in the update. However, Ret. Sgt. Maj. Jason Featherston, a former Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Texas Army National Guard, noted this many soldiers have been onboarded before. “Have we put this many people on orders before at one time? Absolutely. Has it been this long? I would say no,” he previously told Texas Scorecard. “Operation Lone Star was … [poorly] planned.”
Morale
Ulis admitted other problems too. “Rapid deployment and the overwhelming number of volunteers minimized traditional unit leadership integrity and esprit de corps,” he wrote. “This coupled with ever-changing tasks assigned by DPS has challenged lines of communication. Every leader has been informed to keep Soldiers abreast on the mission and successes realized in the execution of the mission.”
Texas Scorecard reported last month a source within TNG described morale in October as “horrible.”
A press inquiry was sent to Gov. Abbott’s office on TMD’s “Morale Survey.” Among the questions we asked was if Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, the Texas Adjutant General, still has the full faith and confidence of the governor. No response was received before publication.
Citizens may read the entire survey below.
This article has been updated since publication.
