Wounded US soldiers fighting off military debts: report Wed Apr 26, 7:48 PM ET
Hundreds of US soldiers wounded in Iraq have been hounded by bill collectors for military debts after coming home, US television reported.
In one case the Army demanded a soldier repay a 2,700 dollar enlistment bonus because he only served two years of a three year tour -- even though it was a mortar blast in Iraq that cut short his service, according to the ABC News report.
In another case, the army mistakenly continued paying a combat bonus to a soldier while he recuperated from a roadside bomb that nearly severed his leg -- then sought to get 2,000 dollars of it back.
"By law, he's not entitled to the money, so he must pay it back," Colonel Richard Shrank, the head of the US Army Finance Command, was quoted as saying.
The cases were unveiled in a report by the Government Accountability Office, which oversees public spending for Congress, according to ABC. The GAO report is to be released Thursday.
The report "found hundreds of wounded soldiers were turned over to collection agencies for military debts incurred though no fault of their own," ABC said. |
