Overpaid Iowa National Guard soldiers ordered to repay money

The federal government overpaid hundreds of Iowa National Guard soldiers, and now it wants its money back, the Quad-City Times reported.

The news came just one day after the soldiers received their welcome home ceremony at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Davenport following a recent yearlong deployment to the Middle East.

The overpayments ranged from $2 up to $4,500 each for 366 of the 400 members of the 248th Aviation Support Battalion, Lt. Col. Michael Wunn, a spokesman for the Iowa National Guard told the newspaper. The amounts varied depending on rank, years of service, and other factors.

"When National Guard soldiers deploy in a federal status supporting an overseas contingency, their pay is managed by the active duty Army component," Wunn explained. "This includes starting and stopping pay according to each soldier's dates of duty. It appears the problem stems from an issue at the demobilization station (Fort Hood, Texas) that caused some members of the battalion to continue receiving their active duty pay and/or entitlements once their active duty orders ended."

The Iowa National Guard notified the impacted soldiers as soon as it discovered the error, Wunn said, adding that many "have already taken steps to repay this money."

What are the payback options?

The debt has created a hardship for many of the soldiers.

"We understand this creates a hardship for those affected," Wunn said. "The Defense Finance and Accounting Services provides Soldiers with a variety of options to repay the debt they incurred as a result of the overpayment."

The money isn't due immediately and it can be re-paid by allowing the Army to keep either a portion or all of their monthly checks until it's paid in full or write a check for the full amount.

"Soldiers are not required to have the debt paid in full before the end of the year, but they must understand that if they don't have their debt settled before the end of the current tax year, they will need to file an amended tax return for 2018 once the debt is repaid," Wunn explained.

What else?

U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) called the mistake "unacceptable" and offered assistance to the affected soldiers.

“It is completely unacceptable that a payroll error made by the Army could now cause financially harmful consequences for our soldiers, who already sacrifice so much in service to our nation," Loebsack said Wednesday, according to the report. "The Army must work with each individual soldier to ensure that they do not face any financial harm or difficulty. I encourage any service member in Iowa who was affected by this failure at the Department of Defense to reach out to my office if you are in need of assistance.”