Home > Rumsfeld Refuses To Pay Back Military Families For Lifesaving Body Armor

Rumsfeld Refuses To Pay Back Military Families For Lifesaving Body Armor

by Open-Publishing - Saturday 1 October 2005
16 comments

Wars and conflicts Economy-budget Governments USA

The Traitor Defies Congress:

"How Many Of Those Killed Could Have Been Saved With The Proper Equipment?"

Families Still Forced To Buy Their Own Protection

"The administration is either showing complete incompetence or utter indifference," "Rumsfeld is violating the law," he said.

September 29, 2005 By Rick Maze, Army Times staff writer & The Associated Press.

Soldiers and their parents are still spending hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars for armor they say the military won’t provide.

"Your expectation is that when you are sent to war, that our government does everything they can do to protect the lives of our people, and anything less than that is not good enough," said a former Marine who spent nearly $1,000 two weeks ago to buy lower-body armor for his son, a Marine serving in Fallujah.

The father asked that he be identified only by his first name - Gordon - because he is afraid of retribution against his son.

"I wouldn’t have cared if it cost us $10,000 to protect our son, I would do it," said Gordon. "But I think the U.S. has an obligation to make sure they have this equipment and to reimburse for it. I just don’t support Donald Rumsfeld’s idea of going to war with what you have, not what you want. You go to war prepared, and you don’t go to war until you are prepared."

In a letter to Dodd in late April, David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel, said his office was developing regulations to implement the reimbursement, and would be done in about 60 days.

Tired of waiting for the Pentagon to launch an authorized program to reimburse troops who buy their own personal protective gear for combat deployments, the chief congressional sponsor of the program wants to wrest control of it from defense officials.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., attached a provision to last year’s defense authorization bill authorizing - but not requiring - the Defense Department to reimburse troops up to $1,100 for the expense of body armor and other protective gear and health and safety equipment not provided by the military.

The Pentagon has never paid a dime.

"Rumsfeld is violating the law," Dodd said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It’s been sitting on the books for over a year. They were opposed to it. It was insulting to them. I’m sorry that’s how they felt."

At a Thursday news conference, Dodd said he is not sure why it is taking so long and wonders whether the Pentagon intends to actually reimburse anyone.

"The administration is either showing complete incompetence or utter indifference," he said. "It feels as if I am getting a rope-a-dope with them, hoping I would go away."

Dodd apologized to service members, their family and friends for the delay and vowed to try to get a provision attached to another defense bill - probably the 2006 defense appropriations bill - ordering reimbursement and putting unit commanders, not Pentagon officials, in charge.

Appearing with Dodd at the news conference was Marine Sgt. Todd Bowers, now a reservist attending college who pulled two tours in Iraq. On his last deployment, Bowers said he was fired on by a sniper but saved by equipment - a rifle scope hit by the sniper bullet and goggles that protected his eyes from shrapnel - that were not supplied by the Marine Corps.

Bowers bought the goggles for about $100, and his father bought the scope for about $600.

Dodd has the backing of major military and veterans’ groups.

"We share your disappointment that the Defense Department still has not implemented it 11 months after it was enacted," said retired Vice Adm. Norbert Ryan Jr., president of the Military Officers Association of America.

Retired Army Master Sgt. Michael Cline, executive director of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, said the Pentagon’s refusal to pay is hard to understand, given the 91-0 vote by the Senate last year in favor of Dodd’s original proposal.

Noting the ongoing stream of casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq, Cline said the military should support any effort to get more protection to troops.

"How many of those killed could have been saved with the proper equipment?" Cline said.

Soldiers and their families have reported buying everything from higher-quality protective gear to armor for their Humvees, medical supplies and even global positioning devices.

Dodd said he is worried the Pentagon will reject most requests for reimbursement. Turning the decision over to the troop commanders will prevent that, he said, because the commanders know what their soldiers need and will make better decisions about what to reimburse.

Dodd also said he wants to eliminate the deadline included in the original law, which allowed soldiers to seek reimbursement for items bought between September 2001 and July 2004. Now, he said, he wants it to be open-ended.

"I’m tired of this, obviously they’re not getting the job done," said Dodd. "If you have to go out and buy equipment to protect yourself, you’re going to get reimbursed."

[And if neither you nor your family have enough money to buy what you need? Think about that. Billionaires run the government and buy the politicians, but hey, if you can’t afford protection and supplies, you can go be dead.

[The enemy is not in Iraq. There is no enemy in Iraq. They’re fighting because they’ve been invaded, and occupied by George W. Bush. The enemy is back here, in Washington DC.

[Iraqis and U.S. troops have the same enemy. Wow, what a surprise. T]

NEED SOME TRUTH? CHECK OUT TRAVELING SOLDIER

Telling the truth - about the occupation or the criminals running the government in Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance - whether it’s in the streets of Baghdad, New York, or inside the armed forces. Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces. If you like what you’ve read, we hope that you’ll join with us in building a network of active duty organizers. http://www.traveling-soldier.org/ And join with Iraq War vets in the call to end the occupation and bring our troops home now! (www.ivaw.net)

http://www.militaryproject.org/article.asp?id=702

Forum posts

  • So why do you idiots volunteer. This isn’t sudden unexpected behavior. The United States has always treated its soldiers and war casualties like pieces of human garbage. If you really want to serve your country, come home and help us get rid of all the jack boot nazi scumbags running around your home terf, stealing your neighbors guns and taxing them into oblivion while shipping all their jobs out of the country and counting their own personal fortunes. I guarantee you that you’ll not only be doing a tremendous service to your country, but we’ll treat you like the heros you would be. I would personally role out a red carpet to get you home to fight the next revolution. We need you home. America has been overrun by enemies who wear our uniforms.

    Just what the hell were you thinking, anyway? Did you really buy that line of bullshit about WMD’s?

    We know that the Bush’s and the Clinton’s have openly talked about the "New World Order". Would you please humor me and define that legal term according to what you think it means. Cuz I’ll tell you what I think it means; Global Military Police State Dictatorship, and you VOLUNTEERED! So don’t whine about not getting body armor. Caesar didn’t go to extreme lenths to protect his centurions either. Surprise. Come home and fight the war here, and I will personally pay for 1 set of body armor for you, and one for me, and we’ll fight along side each other and really defend freedom instead of masturbating like a bunch of morons.

    • No shit! Remember, the military, like any buisness, can be hamstrung with inventory. You have to move the product. In this case soldiers are inventory and "inventory will kill you".

    • To G.I SPECIAL......Good on you!! Tell it like it is, as long as solders think their "fighting for their country" by killing innocent people that have been framed by bully governments, i’e, fatcats, then the fodder will just keep enrolling.

      Once they realize that they are just the shit on the shoe to the controlers, they might not feel so hot shot. And if they still want to kill, buy a computer game, that way they get to keep their legs on............Ian......England.

  • Last year I spent about $1,000. for body armor for my son, who is in the Oregon National
    Guard. His unit thought they were being sent to Iraq. I bought the armor on Ebay.
    About three weeks later, two DoD CID agents appeared at my front door, and demanded the
    armor. They said felons couldn’t own body armor. I told them I was not a felon. They said they
    knew that, but the person selling the armor, a soldier in California, had stolen it. They took the
    armor. I have no idea if what they said was true or not, but I do know that I borrowed the money
    to purchase the armor, and now am paying for it.
    My son was not sent to Iraq, but if he is, I can’t afford to buy him armor now. I don’t know if
    the armor was stolen or not, as I don’t believe anything the government says anymore.

    A Sad Dad in Oklahoma.

    • You should of told them to go to blazes and get off your property or you would sic the dog on them. They may indeed of been from CID but your a civilian and they have no jurisdiction over you and can not tell you what to do. Their are still restrictions on military acting like law enforcement (at least for the time being). As far as you knew you purchased the armor legitimately and they could not legally take it from you. If you would of refused they would have to go thru local law enforcement and due process and thats what should of happened.

    • Well its starting to look like middle America is on the move .. the word is out at long last .. perhaps now the rest of the world can breathe a sigh of relief.

      Freedom and Democracy indeed! Muhuhmuhmuwahh! Go get em lads!

    • I know hind site is 20/20, you should of told the DOD that you mailed them to your son and he never received it.

  • It is indeed a sad day when our brave soldiers have to provide for their own equipment during a time of war.This is an absolute outrage and should be corrected at once.The biggest shame is that we had to ever go to war with the Defence Secretary that we had!!! Rummy shoulda been fired a long time ago , maybe we should bring in Donald Trump to tell Rummy "Your fired!!"

  • Wow, when is the military personnel going to hijack planes and abort their duty over there and come home and say, "We have had it!" What’s the Bush administration going to do then?

    I encourage our military personnel to do that, then it can shake up things in this country and take this country back and secure our borders!

    I’d be happy to buy body armor for any soldier over there! This is sad and shows who the real criminal scum are! It is time to round those up in District of Criminals and bring criminal prosecutions.

  • The government couldn’t care less, since most of the soldiers comes from poor families.

  • Donald Rumsfield convinced me not to join the military. Thank you Donny. The U.S. Army thanks you too.

  • Folks.....
    look, its time to get rid of the 2 party political system.. both domocrates and republicans are one in the same. Demopublicans want the one world order... Bush who I regret voting for has spent more money on social welfare programs than that moron socialist Clinton.Bush has not vetoed 1 lousy stinking bill!!! Its time to take back our country. I’m voting Libertarian for now on..The only congressmen I will vote for are Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul....UNTIL WE STOP THE 2 PARTY SYTEM,WHICH IS CONTROLLED BY THE SAME PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES...WE WILL HAVE TO PUT UP WITH CRAP...... LETS TAKE BACK OUR REPUBLIC!!!!!
    VOTE LIBERTARIAN!!!!!!

  • I live in British Columbia, Canada and I’m shocked at how forgiving the United
    States public is of george bush and his cronyies how with a smile you people fall at his feet. The soldiers that are out of your country should be given the best of everything that the government has to cloth, feed, and protect the soldiers. As a mother of son’s, my red neck is flaming right now and I am thousand’s of miles away- but I feel for the family’s and friends of the soldier’s . When you as a people wake up to what george bush and his cronies are doing to you there SHOULD BE AN UPRISING of the "common man" against the out and out uncaring attitude of the white house for the people of America as seen in the Katrina disaster.........

  • So now many of you are beginning to realize just how the present and past administrations and their handlers in the CFR, TRILATERAL COMMISSION, WORLD BANK, THE FED (Federal Reserve Bank) and OTHER ELITE HEADS feel about those serving in THEIR created wars. (These ARE NOT government organizations. They are the extremely wealthy "elite" private corporate heads.) I’m glad to see so many waking up to reality. It’s not just those in the government that are creating problems, it’s those that pull the strings and make policy behind closed doors in certain forign lands without any PRESS COVERAGE. If you pull the teeth of the dog, it’s bark becomes worse than it’s bite. If you’re going to tear down a building, you MUST START AT THE TOP. If you start at the bottom or middle, you’re going to get crushed. FIND THE TOP! The top is NOT the government. To help find the top, you might read some books and articles written by David Icke and other authors who’ve written about this elite cabel.

    www.davidicke.com

    Although I don’t necessarily agree with all his ideas, the main theme of what’s going on is there. If you can read this material with an open mind and take a good look at reality outside of the ballgames and the so called "popular media" propaganda and stop playing with your toys long enough, maybe you’ll see things as they really are.
    This ’ELITE" puke keeps the weak-minded people who can’t think for themselves arguing over stupid, mundane, sensless issues such as; left-right extreme political issues, abortion, religion, smoking and a whole host of other non-issues while THEY keep advancing their agenda further into their fascist police state and OWO.
    The people of the USA need to put asside these petty arguments and un-issues and face the real problems confronting us NOW, as a nation or face going down the tubes into oblivion.

  • If Rumsfeld were put in the position of the unprotected soldiers, I’m sure the equipment would be supplied vary fast.