Upon further reflection, please keep an eye on this one. If you see additional stories on this exact same soldier, post 'em and ping us. If this is a One Hit Wonder, then it's a smear job against the military and the President because the info is wrong about how loss of equipment is handled.
What's the political bent of the WV Gazette? (All papers have one.)
And really....we're in the middle of a war! Was the loss of a bayonnette during WWII taking up ink in Life Magazine because the soldier was required to pay the $1 it would cost the Army to replace it? I seriously doubt it.
Not questioning your motive for posting this, at all. It's good to educate people so they can spot a smear job disguised as "news" when they see it. It just doesn't pass the "smell test" for some of us old Supply Sergeants. :)
The Klansman brought it up at the Defense department hearing this morning.General Pace promised to get to the bottom of it.
The issue came up when the wounded soldier was leaving. One year later, when the soldier's going home, the Army pulled some crap. They discover missing paperwork. Paperwork that the soldier's not responsible for. The fact is that the soldier's vest was trash due to the explosion that wrecked his arm, never mind the biohazard. That's undeniable. For it not to have been fixed immediately at Ft Hood is unforgivable. If the Army cares so much for the damn vest they can hire a Capt Queeg to go hunt it down.
The man was charged $700 for a vest lost in combat. It's a valid story. If the Army doesn't like the bad publicity, then they should act like decent American's and refrain from screwing their wounded like this.