Ed Palmer
10-19-05, 08:11 AM
Returning US soldiers face financial, medical difficulties
Critics say government is 'turning its back' on veterans because of need for money in Iraq.
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
Wounded US soldiers who have returned home are increasingly finding that they are being referred to credit agencies by the US military because of discrepancies in pay or "failure to pay" for lost equipment.
The Washington Post reported Saturday the story of one soldier, Robert Loria, victim of a bombing in Iraq, who had spent months in an Army hospital. He was not aware that he had not been "downgraded" in his pay scale – once soldiers leave a war zone, their pay goes down.
The last thing on his mind, he said, was whether the Army had correctly adjusted his pay rate ... or whether his combat gear had been accounted for properly: his Kevlar helmet, his suspenders, his rucksack.
But nine months after Loria was wounded, the Army garnished his wages and then, as he prepared to leave the service, hit him with a $6,200 debt. That was just before last Christmas, and several lawmakers scrambled to help. This spring, a collection agency started calling. He owed another $646 for military housing.
The Post reports that the US military recently identified 331 other soldiers who accumulated the same kind of "military debt" after they were wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. The military says they have forgiven the debt of 99 of the soldiers. The other 232 cases "have not been resolved."
"This is a financial friendly fire," charged Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R) of Virginia, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, which has been looking into the issue. "It's awful." Davis called the failure systemic and said military "pay problems have been an embarrassment all the way through" the war.
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What is this?
The cause of the problem, according to military officials, is an outdated Defense Department computer system that "does not automatically link pay and personnel records." The Pentagon has been trying to fix the problem since the mid-'90s.
The Roanoke Times writes in an editorial that this is the latest in a string of problems that the Bush administration has had in dealing with soldiers, both full-time military and National Guard and Reserve troops. The Times pointed to a recent cut of a billion dollars in the Veterans Affairs budget, and the problems outfitting soldiers in war zones with proper equipment. The pay issue just compounds the situation.
Critics say government is 'turning its back' on veterans because of need for money in Iraq.
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
Wounded US soldiers who have returned home are increasingly finding that they are being referred to credit agencies by the US military because of discrepancies in pay or "failure to pay" for lost equipment.
The Washington Post reported Saturday the story of one soldier, Robert Loria, victim of a bombing in Iraq, who had spent months in an Army hospital. He was not aware that he had not been "downgraded" in his pay scale – once soldiers leave a war zone, their pay goes down.
The last thing on his mind, he said, was whether the Army had correctly adjusted his pay rate ... or whether his combat gear had been accounted for properly: his Kevlar helmet, his suspenders, his rucksack.
But nine months after Loria was wounded, the Army garnished his wages and then, as he prepared to leave the service, hit him with a $6,200 debt. That was just before last Christmas, and several lawmakers scrambled to help. This spring, a collection agency started calling. He owed another $646 for military housing.
The Post reports that the US military recently identified 331 other soldiers who accumulated the same kind of "military debt" after they were wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. The military says they have forgiven the debt of 99 of the soldiers. The other 232 cases "have not been resolved."
"This is a financial friendly fire," charged Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R) of Virginia, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, which has been looking into the issue. "It's awful." Davis called the failure systemic and said military "pay problems have been an embarrassment all the way through" the war.
10/17/05
A call for end to US 'blockade' of Cuba
10/14/05
Negroponte creates new spying service
10/13/05
Britain unveils new antiterror legislation
Sign up to be notified daily:
Find out more.
Subscribe via RSS:
What is this?
The cause of the problem, according to military officials, is an outdated Defense Department computer system that "does not automatically link pay and personnel records." The Pentagon has been trying to fix the problem since the mid-'90s.
The Roanoke Times writes in an editorial that this is the latest in a string of problems that the Bush administration has had in dealing with soldiers, both full-time military and National Guard and Reserve troops. The Times pointed to a recent cut of a billion dollars in the Veterans Affairs budget, and the problems outfitting soldiers in war zones with proper equipment. The pay issue just compounds the situation.