"In the case of veterans, it was something they earned.

Which I already said I understood.... but which does NOT answer why the bonuses were set so high. I was not against vets getting the benefit of close scores over me, I just thought that 10 points (why not 4...or 6?) was defeating a lot of the reasons for having an exam and thus, watering down the talent pool.
I gather that this is one of the standard complaints about affirmative action.
I am not complaining...just noting what the issues are.

Sadly, most of the details of such decisions are political and voted on by legislators pressed by lobbyists, rather than being designed by experts in several fields.