So, the Army said it withheld the paralyzed soldier’s pay until it got back the amount he owed — with no advance notice, Simpson said.
“Four months,” he said. “I didn’t get paid for four months.”
Simpson is not the only one. 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.
Capt. Michael Hurst, now out of the Army, conducted the study.
“You have to understand that these soldiers are suffering from incredible injuries, some of them have lost limbs, some of them may never walk again,” Hurst said. “And in the midst of that struggle, to then get a paycheck for nothing really hurts morale.”
And the Army can play tough to get its money back.
In the case of Sgt. Ryan Kelly, who lost his leg in Iraq, he had just finished going through rehabilitation when the Army sent a letter threatening to ruin his credit and call in debt collectors.
He had been overpaid by $2,200 while in the hospital, but, like most, never realized it.
It took Kelly almost a year to cut through the red tape and get the debt forgiven.
“Soldiers receive a paycheck and reasonably think that this is their accurate pay for the month,” Hurst said. “And being in the situation they’re in, having just been injured and in some cases spouses have to quit jobs in order to spend time at Walter Reed, many of these families are really hurting for funds. So a lot of that money gets spent right away.”
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