Soldier shot in Iraq billed for missing military gear

Komo/KVAL ^ | May 28,2010 | KVAL Staff

[USS Alaska]

FUBAR

[Clintonfatigued]

To state the obvious, this does not inspire confidence in the armed forces and the people who run them. Is this just te Oregon National Guard, or do other National Guards do this?

[Moltke]

What next? BYOA - bring your own ammo? Buy a ticket for the flight to Iraq/Afghanistan or that ride in the tank? HUMVEEs with taxi meters?

[PATRIOT1876]

Moronic bureaucrats!

[SZonian]

Agree, having been in the military I can say this...If they wanted to do something about this bad enough, they would have. All it takes is the right command section with big enough balls to make this right.

Right now, it looks like shaming them into it is about the only thing that has a chance of fixing this.

Just my rhetorical question for the day: How in the hell is a trooper being evac’ed supposed to keep all of his “gear” with him when the medical personnel are tossing it aside so they can do their job?

[AuntB]

“To state the obvious, this does not inspire confidence in the armed forces and the people who run them. Is this just te Oregon National Guard, or do other National Guards do this?”

I don’t know, Clintonfatigued. I did hear another story similar to this one a few weeks ago, but don’t remember the details.

[blackie]

Roger that!!

[ArrogantBustard]

*= the letter “a” ;)

Thank you for specifying ... I was starting to get offended.

;'}

[USNBandit]

My guess is that the grenades got split up by his unit. All his gear went in a pile of gear at the hospital that was contaminated with blood and was disposed of.

He left the battlefield in his gear and hit the ramp at Ramstein wearing a hospital gown. I'm pretty sure he didn't make a stop at FEDEX to ship his gear home.

[Travis McGee]

What utter bullshit! This story PISSES ME OFF!

[Travis McGee]

Damn good info, thanks.

[CodeToad]

Th military has done this before. They want every bullet and canteen accounted for and think in war people will know what has happened to every dust bunny. This is what happenes with a PC military run by “managers” and not warriors.

[Travis McGee]

Reminds me of a story told by some VN era SEALs. Seems that much gear was lost/unaccounted for, and the paperwork was sorta rolled over from deployment to deployment, as SEAL platoons rotated in and out.

So, when a stray VC rocket hit the SEAL conex box.....lo and behold, there were about ten 18-wheelers worth of gear in that box, that was destroyed! Paperwork problem solved!

[Still Thinking]

So, when a stray VC rocket hit the SEAL conex box.....lo and behold, there were about ten 18-wheelers worth of gear in that box, that was destroyed! Paperwork problem solved!

Are they sure it was a VC rocket?

[Little Bill]

This is 42 years ago; a guy got dinged bad enough fot a Dust Off. Cut all constricting equipment, do first aid, evac. Bod went one way, equipment the other, never knew anyone who was charged for lost stuff in that situation.

[Travis McGee]

Good question!

[Still Thinking]

Hopefully Juan will get on with his life’s work in Nov.

Yeah, McDonalds does seem to be hiring some guys his age for the only job he's actually qualified for, as is Wal*Mart.

[Little Bill]

I can think of a leg unit I was in where that happened. The 107MM Rocket is a marvelous device.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Any reasonable investigator will see it and a field grade should sign off on it. Done and done."

Bingo. Certainly the equipment needs to be accounted for, but a report of survey with one or two statements (or a 15-6 if sensitive items were among the missing equipment) and a field grade signature and this soldier's troubles should be over. Some staff puke f'ed up, and this soldier is paying the price.

[RichInOC]

“Gentlemen, congratulations. You’re everything we’ve come to expect from years of government training.”

—Agent Zed (Rip Torn), “Men In Black”