SEATTLE - The Pentagon wants its money back.
Some soldiers who were wounded in war are now being ordered to pay back part of their signing bonus.
For a 20-year-old Washington soldier, death and destruction was too much.
The MP was working blockades in Baghdad. One day she was so traumatized by what she saw, she had to be airlifted out.
"She saw more combat than I saw in 2 years," says war veteran Skip Dreps. He's the director of the Northwest Paralyzed Veterans of America. It's Dreps' mission to make sure every soldier gets what they've earned.
"She was medically evacuated to the Baghdad hospital; within one week she was sent to Madigan Army Hospital in Washington, and within a week sent home with a personality disorder - and a week later sent a bill," says Dreps.
The threatening letter Kari got warns if she doesn't repay $2,505.70 of her enlistment bonus, the Army will send a bill collector after her. The Department of Defense is clear: the amount owed is considered the "unearned portion of her enlistment bonus".
"That's not the way we treat our soldiers," says Dreps.
But it's happened to other soldiers too. A discharged soldier from Pittsburgh blew the whistle last week. And the Army agreed to waive his bill.
Dreps says he knows of 12 Washington soldiers who got the letter. He's asked the Army to waive theirs too. So far no decision.
The Army told me it's not sure how many bonus bills went out. Army Major Nathan Banks told KOMO 4 News it wasn't intentional and insists the letters were sent out "inadvertently." Banks blamed it on a 'system error,' he says is now fixed.
Try telling that to over 200 members of Congress, including Washington Representative Adam Smith.
They're demanding that President Bush change the policy, and they vow to pass legislation to make sure all troops wounded in combat keep their enlistment bonuses.
The Pentagon told us it will review all enlistment and re-enlistment bonus appeals on a case-by-case basis.
The Department of Defense has set up a hotline, available 24-7, for soldiers and their families at 1-800-984-8523. Or you can e-mail wsfsupport@conus.army.mil
