Red Tape Binding Soldiers' Wounds

Red tape's costing wounded National Guardsmen and Reservists tons of money and health care.

The Government Accountability Office found that nearly 34% of 867 soldiers it looked at were removed from active duty status while they were waiting for medical care. That meant they lost pay and benefits belonging to them.

Some of these soldiers were severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The GAO was critical of the "medical holdover" system that took names off the active duty list before injured or wounded soldiers had gotten the medical care they needed.

The GAO gave up on Army records -- which they called "unreliable." They did their own audits and found missed pay alone amounted to anywhere from $1,208 to $13,475 for a single soldier. (WashPost)