In a wireless communication network using point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communications, this disclosure teaches the use of combined packets for retransmission and corresponding soft value processing at a receiver, wherein combined packets are formed as the logical combination of two or more previously transmitted packets and allow the receiver to use a single combined packet to correct one or more failed packets. For example, with the combined packet retransmission and corresponding soft value receiver processing as taught herein, a given receiver can use a given combined packet to correct bit errors in all (failed) packets comprising the combined packet as long as the bit errors in a failed packet do not overlap (or align) with bit errors in the other failed packets comprising the combined packet.