Soldier pays for armor

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U.S. Army Lt. William “Eddie” Rebrook of Charleston (left) and other soldiers take cover near an ancient cemetery during a gunbattle with insurgents in Najaf, Iraq, in August 2004. Rebrook, who was honorably discharged last week because of an arm injury sustained in battle, was forced to pay $700 for body armor that was destroyed when he was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq.



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

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This is something concrete we can run with. Everybody please click the link in my sig and write your representative and senators. Mine is in the armed services committee. Let's get this bullshit taken care of.

There's no reason in the world he should have to pay for combat gear.

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Far Rider wrote: I know this sounds nuts, but here goes an explaination that I think is very typical of the Army, keep in mind that it is the worlds largest beaucracy.



We have these procedures in place for eons to make soldiers responsible for equipment, if not you wind up with a lot of damaged and wasted equipment and that craps expensive. Every combat soldier or even infantryman who's ever drawn a TA50 knows ya keep track of your stuff or ya paid for it.



So we go to war, but let me tell ya the pencil pushers dont go to war and still have the responsibility to keep track of the gear. When a discrepency appears on the ledger and theres an explaination for it they accept it, when theres not you bought it.



This soldier needs to stay and chase it down, the burden of proof always lays at the responsibilty of the last guy who signed for said equipment. That IS the army way.



Although I agree this soldier shoudlnt have to pay for it, he still needs to track it down. Now having said all that, iI'm not excusing the actions of the logistician who'd being a hardcase here, I think hes being a hardcase, what he needs to do is make a resaonable "guess" if the mans telling the truth and go to bat for the soldier. Contacting by email the battalian commander shoudl get the logistitican an answer to confirm his assumption that the soldier is telling the truth.



If your an honest soldier and not on the take, the processes that are in place protect you from unreasonable action against you, generally speaking.



I say this soldier shouldnt be charged with the cost, because clearly this is the failure of his platoon Sgt to record the destruction of the armor.



Wat I want to say is you cant demonize the army for a procedure like this when its human error, you can bitch about the process and how slow it is, and even comlain its not fair. But I'll stop you short if you say its punitive.



What this soldier needs to do is keep his records, contact his platoon Sgt, or OIC, have the necessary statements sent to him and go get his money back.



It's about a process.
Our posts crossed each other.



I've never been in combat. That said, the guy was injured. It wasn't like he woke up and his stuff was gone. They peeled it off his body which he put in harm's way, as was his duty. Big difference. An unconcious wounded soldier can't be responsible for the medic losing his gear.



How far off-base am I?

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mrsK wrote: It would be tha last thing I would be thinking about also:rolleyes:



We had an army exercise on our property a few years back & to cut a long story short one of the enlisted men lost his grenade launcher & was court martialled for not keeping his weapon with him at all times........................................

I wonder what became of that launcher
Perfectly reasonable in an exercise situation.

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Well Senator Cornyn has no lips but he does have a seat on the armed services committee. I wrote him as well as my other senator & representative. I can't afford to send the family a check.