Topeka ? Citing a “misinterpretation” of data, a federal military official revised an audit that fueled a debate about whether the Kansas Army National Guard used “ghost soldiers” to inflate its troop strength for seven years.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ office and Maj. Gen. Greg Gardner, the Guard’s commander, said Thursday that the change verified their contention that the Guard’s strength numbers were accurate and that no individuals received pay they had not deserved.

Col. Dennis Elliott, property and fiscal officer for Kansas, announced the revision Thursday. The change, Elliott said, “corrects a misinterpretation in the narrative portion” of a draft version of the audit prepared by his office.

Details from the draft became public in May — before the audit was completed — when Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays coined the term “ghost soldiers” and accused the Army guard of inflating its strength. Mays, R-Topeka, was not available for comment Thursday.

Gardner sought the audit to determine whether individuals identified for discharge improperly received pay. Even the draft version said no one did.

But that draft, dated April 22, also said nearly 2,400 individuals, or 30 percent of the soldiers awaiting discharge from January 1996 through February 2003, remained on their unit payrolls for at least 180 days “after the effective date of the discharge.” The preliminary audit continued, “The Kansas Army National Guard strength was overstated during the period.”

However, in a memo Thursday to Sebelius, Elliott said the revision to the audit “clarifies that the 180-day timetable encompasses the period when a member is placed into a non-pay status until discharge.”

“I would like to point out that the timelines in the report are internal processing timelines and do not allow the Kansas Army National Guard to receive additional federal funding or enhance the guard’s readiness posture,” Elliott wrote.