Wounded US Soldiers Forced to Battle Pentagon Debt Collectors
A leaked draft report by the Government Accountability Office has revealed that many wounded soldiers have had collection agencies sent after them to collect military debts.
One soldier was critically injured in Iraq with shrapnel ending up in his left kidney and head, forcing him out of the military. The army demanded he repay a $2700 enlistment bonus because he had only completed 2/3 of his 3 year tour.
Because he was unable to pay, the Army contacted credit agencies and had a bad debt listed against him making it impossible for him to rent an apartment. He was forced to live in his car.
The military says it is working to correct the problem.
http://abcnews.go.com/ One soldier was paralysed and accidentally overpaid by the army. They withheld his pay for 4 months without notice until they got back what they were owed. This man had a wife and 4 children.
Many of the debts are eventually being forgiven but it is often taking a long time.
Great link, this is an atrocity, an affront to every member of the military. Heads need to roll over this debacle. If I preformed this poorly at my job I would be on the unemployment line in minutes. The people responsible for this disaster need to be in prison.
These are all quotes from ixuzus link, I suggest you read the source article yourself.
A study commissioned by the First Infantry Division estimated that eight out of 10 of its wounded soldiers from Iraq have gone through the same or a similar ordeal. The Government Accountability Office described the Army as having failed the test of taking care of its wounded from Iraq. Shrank disagreed, however. "No, I would not agree that we have failed the test, because we are making the fixes to bring it up to standard,"
a problem the GAO said had been ignored until the soldiers went public.
“We first realized it was a problem when it came into our view through many different channels," Shrank said. "You see it on [television], read about it in the papers. A soldier without a paycheck is a situation that nobody wants to see." Shrank was asked if it had happened thousands of times. "I, no, I do not think thousands of times," he said. the Army told "Nightline" that 5,549 soldiers, or about one out of five soldiers who were removed from battle for medical reasons later had payroll problems.
“There's still no integrated payroll computer system”
What a horrible story. After making them pay for damaged body armor, if they didnt finish their tour they lose their bonuses. With all this money the army is saving you would think gas for me would be a bit cheaper
The your guys risk themselves to uphold such a corrupt and unfair system but who am i to talk because Britian is just a bad, one things for certain i would never join any military forceeven if it were mandatory as they are run by the rich to proctect them from the poor
They are so frequently screwed on their benefits and healthcare after they come back, and have been for so long, that this really does not shock me. Where I work, I see it every day - the doctors here lament often that we are in no way prepared to deal with the flood of young soldiers coming back from Iraq. Given those that have started to trickle in, it seems they are right. Hell, given the Vietnam guys who make up a good chunk of our patients, I'd say that they've still not figured out how to deal with the people from THAT conflict.
The military has no problem at all giving you a paycheck of goose eggs ($0.00) or a negative balance due, and not think twice about it. They have this little "fine print" that says when all is said and done YOU are ultimately responsible for your pay. Everything is directed at you, how did YOU end up with goose eggs, what did YOU do for this to happen, what steps did YOU take to prevent this, and what are YOU going to do to repay quite possibly OUR mistake, and what are YOU going to do so this doesn't happen again? All this while you're being reprimanded, publicly humiliated, demoted, and garnished. Isn't that sweet? YOU damaged our individual protective equipment: were YOU using it correctly, what could YOU have done to not be in that situation, now YOU are going to pay us back for the damaged equipment.
I retired at 20 years in the military. I was eligible (due to rank) to go for 27 years. I'm sure Id've made rank in that time to go the full 30. But, when asked why I didn't stay, my answer was this: "I am sick and tired of the incompetence level". Don't get me wrong though; there are some absolutely sharp people in the military - no doubt about that. But they are few and far in between. It's no different than anywhere else, any job, any corporation. You have your geniuses and you have your slackers. The higher rank I became (more involved in management/leadership), the more incompetence I began to see, and it disgusted me. As a mid level manager it's hard to effect changes for the better no matter how hard you try, when you have a complete nit in charge that hasn't got a clue one.
Nope, 20 years is all they got from me. I became too cynical to continue on.
"One soldier was paralysed and accidentally overpaid by the army. They withheld his pay for 4 months without notice until they got back what they were owed."
Everyone in the military knows this happens from time to time. I'm not saying it's right, but if a soldier/Marine suddenly gets a lot more money than usual, he/she (usually) knows not to spend it, because the government will get their money back. Most times, it balances out in the end.
That may be true but in a high stress situation like that I'm not sure that checking payslips is the highest priority for the family. In any case the military should at least do what many decent civilian employees do - contact the employee, explain the situation and negotiate. I have no problem with them reclaiming overpayment per se but notifying the employee and giving them the option of having it taken out of their pay over a longer period of time would seem to be a basic courtesy. Many civilian employers do this and they aren't putting their employees in a situation with a high risk or serious injury or death. Military personnel deserve far better.
This is right throughout allied military..perhaps world.
You'd think that pensions and whatnot would be gladly supplied by governments without red tape or beuaracy..they volunteered to serve, at least give them something to say thanks, saying thanks for a good job doesnt put food on the table when your wounded and not able to work.
