More Vet Shafting

wcbstv.com - Army's 'Debt Of Service' Leaves Vets Perplexed: "...Former Army Specialist Rodriguez started getting bills for $700 for lost or damaged government property this summer. Although he was discharged some four years ago, bills recently arrived demanding payment, but giving no details on what or why -- nor do they offer a way to dispute the charges.

'For doing my job you're going to bill me?' Rodriguez said.

And he's not alone. A 2006 government report found more than 1,000 soldiers being billed a total of $1.5 million. And while fighting overseas put their lives on the line, this battle on paper could cost them their future by ruining their credit. Rodriguez will be reported to credit agencies next month.

'It makes a terrible point about the nature of military service today,' citizen soldier Tod Ensign said.

Ensign is a veteran's advocate. He says this is all part of the military’s push to be run more like a business.

'They'll just pound him and call him, call his employers, and make his life as miserable as they can until he pays up,' Ensign said.

Testimony before Congress detailed in a report found that 'although unit commanders and finance offices are authorized to write off debts for lost and damaged equipment ... they have not always done so..."

Years ago, what is probably an archetypal story floated through the Viet Nam theatre concerning a grunt on a helicopter. The chopper started getting small arms fire and eventually a few hits. Somewhere along the line, the chopper lurched and the soldier lost his M-16 out the open door. He started yelling at the pilot to "Take 'er down! Take 'er down!" The pilot refused but the soldier said, "But I'll have to pay for that weapon!" The co-pilot pointed at the open door as they sped over the jungle: "Now you know why a Captain goes down with his ship."

That sounds absurd but no more so than the reality of the story above. The question unanswered, of course, is who pays for all those broken and lost human weapons that make up the daily body count?