Wounded soldier forced to repay $700 for lost body armor!

[kevinbgoode]

This is, in my mind, unconscionable - that we expect people to go off and fight for our country and this Administration, and then refuse to discharge them when they are wounded until they scrape up $700 to replace the body armor provided them.

John Aravosis has a good account of a story in today's Charleston (W.V.)Gazette about a soldier who had to gather money from his buddies to pay off the government's bill - and AmericaBlog is taking donations for an account to repay the soldier and to bring attention to this continuing issue about lack of body armor and then charging the soldier for being WOUNDED when the body armor has to be destroyed.

Please take a few moments to read over the article, which is linked to:

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2006020623?pt=10

and then visit http://www.americablog.blogspot.com

I am simply outraged that our government would ask the people of this nation to make sacrifices and then embarass the nation by requiring wounded service personnel to REPAY the military for the damned body armor which WE have paid for to begin with. . .


By the way - if you have the time, I'd email or write my congresspeople and senators and ask THEM to make the donations - and then get this crap straightened out immediately! I contacted both Sen. Byrd's office and Sen. Durbin (one of my senators). Our government has no right to embarass the American people by expecting this young man, or any service personnel, to repay them for equipment ruined because they were wounded!

[gordianot]

1. Why does nothing surprise me anymore?

[Name removed]

2. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[wtbymark]

3. yea...don't wreck that humvee n/t

[hvn_nbr_2]

4. No wonder a captain goes down with his ship. n/t

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Here is the "logic":

<sarcasm>Soldiers are bitching and moaning about how they don't have body armor. So the government provides it at great expense (anyone else remember the $500 hammers and the $300 toilet seats?) Certainly it is reasonable to expect soldiers to take care of this expensive gear, isn't it? </sarcasm>

[hvn_nbr_2]

6. Helen, please ask Scottie about this. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Whoever billed that kid had better make World's Worst person on KO

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Where are the K and Rs people?

[pocket]

9. at least he HAD armor

unlike most of our troops

[Solly Mack]

10. Happens a lot - when you're injured and can't account for your

TA-50(to include your flak vest), the army ain't above charging you for it. Nevermind that once injured, you're not exactly in any shape to do an equipment lay-out and take inventory. It's not exactly the number 1 thought on your mind. "Gee, my arm is laying over there in the dune - but I'm sure worried about my TA-50"

Congress people have usually stepped in to fight the charges IF soldiers and their families manage to gain their attention.

It's beyond disgusting that soldiers even have to appeal to Congress for protection against such theft and gross abuse(it shouldn't be happening.period.). And it IS theft when you're charged for equipment you can't possibly be in control of since you're injured...

[benddem]

11. John on Americablog

has a place on the website to donate to him. I've faxed my congresscritter a repuke and both Senators a copy of the article and asked "Is this how the Bush Administration supports the troops?
http://americablog.blogspot.com/
edited to add the url.

[Ilsa]

12. Sen. Bird quizzed Gen. Pace on this at the comittee meeting this morning.

He said he wants an answer and a resolution to this and Pace said he'd get back to him and the committee in writing with it. Bird invited him to see him in his office when he got an answer.

Amazing. KBR/Halli can defraud the govt for millions, but the army wants to nickel & dime the troops.

[lpbk2713]

13. How much does Shit-for-Brains have to pay for his costumes

when he wants to play dress-up?





Not one fuggen cent. The local commanding officers are falling all over themselves to get him a cute outfit for whatever photo-op he has scheduled in their area. And he doesn't even get close to where the action is. You think any of the BFEE would have to pay for any of that equipment that the troops can't even get when they really need it? Hell fuggen no. That's disgusting. This GI paid for being in this bogus war with his blood and they want him to pay out of his own pocket as well!? Now I've heard everything.

[kevinbgoode]

14. I want to thank those at DU who visited or made a contribution

AmericaBlog reported receiving over $5000 in donations in a couple of hours, and all the money will go to the soldier.

But I also think we learned some lessons here - that this may not be such an uncommon situation, that there is a policy which requires equipment disposal or loss to be recorded on the field, and that just isn't realistic in a battlefield or emergency situation. I might be wrong here, but I doubt the Army has people walking around during the battle checking for ruined or blown up equipment and keeping a tally. . .and if this has happens to other wounded soldiers, the policy has to be eliminated.

Anyway, thanks to any of you who read the article and visited Aravosis' site - and my apologies if this thread seems to have somehow gotten out of control with some of the discussion.

[genie_weenie]

15. This is normal practice (no sarcasm)

Those ceramic plates in the body armor are expensive and were one of the pieces of gear that a Marine was required too have positive control of, your weapon, new light-weight kevlar and gas mask being the others.

Now, I don't know the specifics of this soldier, but if he claimed he lost them, then regardless of an injury he might have sustained he needs to make restitution.

[lostnfound]

16. But the last paragraph talks about equipment 'lost in battle'

My interpretation of the word "also" in the last sentence -- "Rebrook said he knows other soldiers who also have been forced to pay for equipment destroyed in battle." -- is that his equipment was destroyed in battle.

[0007]

17. Ah, the good general said he'd look into the situation. That

was on c-span this morning.

[Katherine Brengle]

18. **PISSED**

I heard a story like this a few months ago--how ridiculous is this?

I'll tell you what--if that were to happen to my husband (universe forbid), I would be pulling a Cindy Sheehan and sitting out in front of whatever lavish abode King George was staying in at the time demanding that HE pay for it out of his own deep pockets.

What a rat bastard fucking government we have right now...

[dsc]

19. Is there any depth to which these people won't sink?

I always think I have seen the most ridiculous or outrageous policy come out of this administration and then something else happens.