Why did he pay it? He should have told the Army to go 'f' themselves.
The stockades are full of people who told the Army to go 'f' themselves.
It was most likely deducted from his separation pay.
He should have just called his congressperson's office -- THEY would have told the Army to go f*** themselves. Medics rescuing and transporting gravely wounded soldiers have better things to do with their extremely limited time than document the disposition of each piece of clothing and equipment removed from the wounded soldier's body. I wonder if these regulations-bots also deduct the cost of missing body armor from the death benefits of soldiers who are killed in action.