web counter Media Lies: I don't know what to say

Monday, February 07, 2005

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I don't know what to say

This is ridiculous.
The Army has identified 129 wounded soldiers who mistakenly received bills for expenses upon returning home from wars — in some cases instead of final paychecks — and it has forgiven their debts.

After learning of the first such cases, Army Gen. Richard A. Cody said, an audit team determined that other wounded soldiers "experienced pay issues" and the Army has made changes it hopes will prevent other instances.

"We are dedicated to the well being of our soldiers and strive to provide the absolute best for America's sons and daughters," Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, said in a letter sent late Friday to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Democrat from New York intervened in the case of Spc. Robert Loria, who lost his arm in Iraq. In December, as Loria was about to be discharged from the Army, officials told the 27-year-old soldier from Middletown, N.Y. that he owed nearly $1,800 in expenses.

Loria, who was wounded last February, had expected to get a check for nearly $4,500.

But Army officials said he had been overpaid for his time as a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and said he still owed money for travel between the Washington-area hospital, where he received treatment, and Fort Hood in Texas, where he was recovering. Officials also said he also owed money for items not found in his returned equipment and had to repay his family separation stipend.
Can someone explain to me how a wounded soldier should have to pay his own travel expenses back to his base?

UPDATE: Here's more bureaucratic stupidity in the military. As a former Navy man, I can attest to the fact that the military bureaucracy can be, at times, frustrating beyond comprehension. You'd think it would dawn on these idiots that they're dealing with people who shoot guns — quite accurately.

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