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While they can apparently submit a form to cover it, this is insane. Are they planning on reissuing the uniforms to new soldiers? Don’t the bureaucrats know that war is hell and the people fighting them might muss their clothing? Are we that broke that we have to recover uniform costs from soldiers to pay the cost overruns on weapon systems even the Pentagon doesn’t want? On the other hand, given the huge paychecks soldiers receive means they are wallowing in cash.
Imagine fighting for your country in Iraq, risking life and limb, only to be billed for your lost or damaged uniform. That’s what is happening to some soldiers returning from Iraq.
The Eyewitness News Investigators has been looking into this for some time.
They served bravely and are now being slapped with a bill from Uncle Sam. The men you are about to hear from are being charged for the uniforms they served in — one of them damaged on the battlefield, others lost in the confusion of war.
[…]
This soldier got a bill for about $500 dollars for lost gear. Another soldier had to pay nearly $800 dollars for items such as trousers, a coat, a helmet which he lost during a year spent in some of Iraq’s most dangerous towns.“Maybe you were lying down with a coat behind your head and you come under fire. Your first reaction isn’t to grab coat fold it neatly and make sure it’s properly stowed when you’re being shot at,” another soldier said.
[…]
“You can sometimes get him to sign a waiver, but he’s often swamped with things that are much more important,” the soldier said.These soldiers paid their bills rather than getting bogged down in bureaucracy. They still love the military, even though the respect seemed less than mutual.
Tradition.
Well, Congress has to pay for the ~$4000 pay rase each member just got!
Bureaucrats are the same no matter where you go.
“Are they planning on reissuing the uniforms to new soldiers?” – Yes, uniforms are reissued on and on and if still whole at the prescribed replacement interval, sold to second hand stores.
Also, one needs to know what is soldiers responsibility. Without such rule conditions would be rife for stealing and black market in uniforms which could eventually reach the bad guys and allow them some sneaky possibilities. Rough rule, but military is full of them and people signing in should be aware of all of them.
This information appeared in the newspapers a few years ago.Why did the MSM let the story die? Where were the bloggers?
Is it because “They enlisted so we can treat them any way we want to?” That’s what happened in the Walter Reed scandal, and likely other places.
And kids still enlist. Here’s why:
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“Naturally the common people don’t want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.”
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
– Reich Chancellor Herman Goering
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If there was a universal draft, everyone would give a damn what happened to their children. Who cares now?
(I hear the moaning and groaning as I write this.)
Yes, it’s typical DoD Bureaucratic B.S.
Just what Eisenhower warned us about.
The DoD biblically chokes and watches like a hawk, the relatively small expenses of solders (the nat); but, seemingly and gladly swallows, without 1% the previous scrutiny the TRILLION DOLLAR Defense budget (the elephant) for the corrupt Military Industrial Complex. Can you say Haliburton and Cheney?
We plan to bill soldiers because we are short on cash, but yet we can spend a bunch on Obama’s inauguration. That doesn’t make sense…
I’d tell the USG, they can bill me!
They also take the cost of the clothes out of soldiers wage when they are issued to them. Or so I am told by a friend that was in for 6 years.
Where did that photo come from?
# 9 Macbandit said, “They also take the cost of the clothes out of soldiers wage when they are issued to them. Or so I am told by a friend that was in for 6 years.”
No. Enlisted are issued the basic uniforms free. They only have to pay for Dress uniforms. Officers pay.
They are lucky they were issued uniforms at all. In some countries the army doesn’t issue uniforms — recruits have to buy them. With their own money. And being out of uniform is still cause for punishment — in some places, flogging.
Fine by me. These morons are STUPID enough to volunteer their lives in order to fight illegal wars for corporate and Zionists interests. What’s more valuable, your life or your clothes?
#10: What, you don’t recognize Jessica Simpson?
#8, Most of the cost of the Inaugural Balls and Festivities are born by private donors. Very little is paid for by the government and that is only because it is a required expenditure such as the Secret Service details, limousines, traffic and crowd control and policing, and the like.
The balls and entertainment themselves aren’t. Because this can’t be taken as a tax deduction, most of the sponsors remain anonymous. Some sponsors make themselves known. This was very noticeable during the last two Inaugurations where the energy and military contractors poured tons of money into the festivities.
This reminds me of stories that I have been told by Canadian veterans of WWII of how the government charged soldiers for the blanket that they might be buried in. I think that the charge was $1.00 at the time.
Reminds me perversely of the Chinese and Soviet (Russian now, too?) governments who charge the families of the executed for the bullet.
There was once a rumor that an Air Force sergeant was paying off a B-52. Seems he hadn’t followed Tech Order procedure and it burned to the tarmac. Of course it could have just been a story to encourage the troops to follow tech orders.
I worked with the mother of an officer who was very badly shot up during the Falklands war.
When he was brought back on a stretcher for a long stay in hospital, many operations and obviously a difficult time physically afterwards, the first correspondence he received was a bill from the British War Office (Ministry of Defence) for his uniform and kit. I understand he was also threatened with legal action for recovery. A TV programme was made of this. Our military management scum are like your military management scum. Quite unfit to be members of the human race.
I am willing to subscribe to a fortnights holiday in the sun and sand for all of them if such a scheme ever gets off the ground (Gaza, or Helmand province with Baghdad a poor third would be my choice).
http://military.com/benefits/military-pay/clothing-allowances
This in place to stop abuse. My brother-law was in Iraq for 2 years. He went to req something but couldn’t because it was ban item because of abuse. This ban list also included Blackberries and Laptops. Because everyone under the sun was reqing them. Its not just the top level people who abuse the system but the peons do too.
They should send W and Cheney a bill for fucking up the USA.
I’d like to be her Valentine !
About 3 years ago wasn’t there a flap over charging injured soldiers for their meals while hospitalized?
Priorities.
First off, if you lose your Army Combat Helmet (ACH) during deployment you are a moron, and yes you should have to pay for it both in monetary form and corrective P.T. Oh and that bill of $800 dollars was probably just for the ACH itself.
Second off, you’re issued plenty of ACU’s before deployment and you’re not expected to repay for lost ACU’s. If you loose them, you’ll have to buy new ones.
Finally, if a piece of equipment is damaged by something other then negligence it is easy to get the form filled out and signed to avoid being charged.
Then again, it is easier to take a sample size of two and apply that to the entire population. Ignorance is bliss.
All I know is it’s nothing new. Same thing when I served during VietNam. The funny thing for us was if you’d lost or damaged something, you paid for it and THEN took it home with you to pack away against being recalled while in the reserves. (Uniforms only – equipment was returned.) I think my Mom has a box in the attic with all my old uniforms in it. Split out all the seams and I bet I could still fit into them, too…
Sounds like a sensationalist story to me. Not everyone goes into combat and they have a system in place to pay for gear lost due to negligence/theft.
You come back with gear missing due to combat, military sends you a bill for lost gear, you fill out a form explaining that the gear was lost in combat conditions, military writes off lost gear as a loss. Bill goes away.
Or are the guys coming back too shell shocked to fill out a form?
I was so busy staring at Valentine’s hooters, I forgot what the article was about.
Is this why the Captain goes down with the ship?
Nice Boobies