This is the support the troops get sometimes from this adminstration:
This kills them.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/08/soldier.payment/index.html

Hurt soldier billed for gear to be repaid
Lieutenant shelled out $650 to gain discharge after injury in Iraq
From Larry Shaughnessy  CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former Army soldier will be reimbursed after he was 
required to pay for his equipment when he was wounded in Iraq, a military 
spokesman said Wednesday.

First Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook was discharged for medical reasons last 
week after being injured in Iraq, and the Army said Wednesday he paid about 
$650 for 18 items that he was issued before going to Iraq.

"Whether procedures weren't followed or the system failed him is currently 
under investigation," said a written statement issued by a spokesman at 
Fort Hood in Texas. "What is clear is that this command is going to do the 
right thing by Lieutenant Rebrook, who is one of our nation's proud 
veterans."

The statement also said, "There is no question that [Rebrook] should not 
have to pay for the body armor of his that was destroyed in Iraq."

But that development came after the matter garnered national attention 
Tuesday when a West Virginia newspaper reported Rebrook's story. 

The newspaper account prompted Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, 
to question top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Donald 
Rumsfeld, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

"How can it be that the Army is charging wounded soldiers for replacing 
damaged body armor?" he asked.

Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the top Army officer, promised to look into the 
matter.

"We certainly have procedures that account for matter loss, and I just find 
it a highly unusual story," he said.

The Charleston Gazette reported that Rebrook paid the Army for his outer 
tactical vest, which the newspaper called "body armor." Rebrook told the 
newspaper he didn't know what happened to the bloody vest because it had 
been removed when he was wounded.

On Wednesday, the Army said Rebrook would not have been asked to pay the 
money if he had filled out two required forms.

Those comments drew an angry rebuke from Rebrook's father, Edward Rebrook 
of Charleston, West Virginia.

"That is a lie," the soldier's father told CNN. "It's a case of CYA by the 
Army."

William Rebrook was told the 18 items were missing and that he could pay 
for them or fill out two forms saying that the equipment had been lost, 
damaged or destroyed in combat.

However, Edward Rebrook said his son would have had to stay in the Army, 
continue to live on base at Fort Hood and wait possibly weeks while those 
forms were processed. Instead, he chose to pay cash for the missing items 
and get out of the Army.

The Gazette on Wednesday quoted the soldier as dismissing the story as 
a "bureaucratic snafu." 

"I love the Army," he told the paper. "I love my soldiers. I loved being in 
it."

Hours after the initial story was published, a number of people donated 
nearly $700 to Rebrook to pay for the gear. Rebrook's father said that 
money has been donated to a family whose home was lost during Hurricane 
Katrina.

Meanwhile, the Web site Americablog ran the story and claimed to have 
raised nearly $6,000 for the soldier. The father said the family members 
had not received any money from Americablog, but that if they get it, they 
will donate it to a soldier's support group.

A Pentagon source said the reimbursement check should be sent to 
Rebrook "in a matter of days." 

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