When the Army Gets It Wrong
Wounded soldiers often--too often--find themselves having to battle the Pentagon over pay mistakes
Army officials say that Hurst's report is an objective and largely accurate account of pay problems. But they also say they've begun to fix the system. "I think we have made a lot of improvement," said Eric Reid, director of the U.S. Army Finance Command. "Is it foolproof? No." The Army is working aggressively to forgive the debts of soldiers who have been overpaid, he says. The Army has identified 331 wounded soldiers hit with debts. So far, Reid said, 99 soldiers have had debts suspended or waived. And bureaucrats now flag the payroll files of every soldier wounded in action, in an attempt to avoid problems.
But the short-term steps are only a piecemeal fix, and the integration of pay and personnel databases won't be completed until 2007--at the earliest.
Counting the Wounded
More than 14,000 American troops have been wounded in Iraq since the start of combat in March 2003, about seven times the number killed.
U.S. troops injured in action
March '03 202
Sept. '05 532
[chart labels]
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
March '03
Jan.'04
Jan. '05
Sept. '05
Source: Brookings Institution
USN&WR
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