	Continuing Pay Problems for Army Soldiers

Continuing pay problems resulted in overpayments and debt for sick and  injured GWOT Army soldiers. Our investigation into allegations of pay problems related to 37 soldiers  assigned to the MRPU at Fort Bragg identified actual overpayments of  approximately $218,000 to 232 sick and injured Army National Guard and  Reserve soldiers in outpatient status during the period April 2003 through  June 2005. As a policy, DFAS does not pursue collection action on the debts  of fallen soldiers. In addition, DFAS may pursue collection of debts of other  deceased soldiers. We found that hundreds of separated battle-injured  soldiers were pursued for repayment of military debts that occurred  through no fault of their own, including 74 soldiers whose debts had been  reported to credit bureaus, private collection agencies, and TOP at the  time we initiated our audit in June 2005. Although the Debt Collection Act  gives DOD authority to use these debt collection tools, in response to our  audit, the Army temporarily suspended collection action on debts of  battle-injured soldiers until a determination could be made about whether  these soldiers’ debts were eligible for relief. Overpayments and Debt Collection Action Have Placed Significant Hardship on Sick and Injured Soldiers and Their Families

Debt collection actions have caused a variety of problems for injured and  sick Army GWOT soldiers. Depression – sent to  MRPU at Fort Bragg  and redeployed to  Iraq. By this time, the soldier’s overpayments had resulted in debt of  $1,300. Separated Battle-Injured Soldier Case Studies

Case studies related to our audit of separated battle-injured soldier debt  showed that several of these soldiers also had gone without a paycheck  for several months while they were in Army medical facilities undergoing  treatment for their war injuries because debt caused by overpayments of  combat pay and other errors was offset against their military pay. Table 2 illustrates examples of the effects of debt collection actions on  10 of our separated Army battle-injured case study soldiers and their  families. The Army debt was the only  blot on the soldier’s credit report. Pay calculation errors. For example, the act could be clarified to make debt relief  available to soldiers regardless of when they separated from active duty. Currently, soldiers who separated from the Army more than 1 year ago are  not eligible to obtain debt relief, and soldiers who paid debts are not  eligible for refunds. These pay problems have resulted in significant  frustration for injured soldiers and their families.
Why GAO Did This Study

In light of GAO's past four reports and testimonies on Army military pay and travel pay for soldiers who have served in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), GAO was asked to determine if weaknesses in Army processes for initiating and terminating active duty pay might result in erroneous payments and debt, including (1) overpayments to soldiers in the Fort Brag Medical Retention Processing Unit (MRPU)--1 of 23 MRPUs--and (2) overpayments and other errors that resulted in debt collection action against battle-injured soldiers who were released from active duty. GAO also was asked to develop case studies to illustrate the effects of these problems on soldiers and their families and to determine ways that Congress could make the debt collection process more soldier friendly.

What GAO Found

Continuing pay problems resulted in overpayments and debt for sick and injured Army soldiers serving in GWOT. As with GAO's prior work, these pay problems resulted in significant frustration and financial problems for the soldiers and their families. Our audit of separated Army GWOT soldier debt identified nearly 1,300 separated battle-injured soldiers and soldiers who were killed in combat during the first 4 years of GWOT deployment who had incurred a total of $1.5 million in debt as of September 30, 2005. DOD has authority to write off debts of deceased soldiers and generally does not pursue collection action on the debts of soldiers who were killed in action. However, we found that hundreds of battle-injured soldiers were pursued for repayment of military debts through no fault of their own, including at least 74 soldiers whose debts had been reported to credit bureaus and private collection agencies at the time we initiated our audit in June 2005. Although the Debt Collection Act gives DOD authority to use these debt collection tools, in response to our audit, the Army temporarily suspended collection action on debts of battle-injured soldiers until a determination could be made about whether these soldiers' debts were eligible for relief. In addition our investigation of pay problems related to Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers assigned to the Fort Bragg MRPU identified overpayments of approximately $218,000 related to 232 sick and injured soldiers. Many sick and injured Fort Bragg soldiers faced garnishment of wages and other debt collection action resulting from their pay errors. Congress recently gave the Department of Defense (DOD) authority to cancel some GWOT soldier debts. Because of restrictions in the law, debts of injured soldiers who separated at different times can be treated differently, and soldiers who paid their debts are not eligible for refunds. Also, because this authority expires in December 2007, soldiers and their families could face bad credit reports and visits from collection agencies in the future.