Wounded soldier billed by military for medical equipment

Submitted by anthony on Mon, 2010-05-31 16:56

Story here. Excerpt:

'VALENCIA COUNTY (KRQE) - A New Mexico father said his son's purple heart is tarnished now that the military is billing him for equipment the wounded soldier left behind on the battlefield when he was airlifted to safety.

Gary Pfleider said it's still hard for him to talk about the day he found out his son was hit by a sniper while serving in Iraq in 2007.
...
Gary’s son, Gary Pfleider II, must now wear a brace and walk with a cane around his home in Oregon. The soldier remembers that incident a little differently.
...
Several months ago, the soldier who now has a purple heart, scars and a brace to show his bravery received a bill in the mail.

It totals over $3,000, which includes interest, for equipment Gary II took to the battlefield and the military said he is still responsible for—items like his canteen and even some grenades.
...
“I mean what do they want, the soldiers to go, get wounded and say not-ah you're not moving me until I get my gear,” Gary Sr. said.'

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Comments

While the military may use words like "honor" and "be the best you can be" to recruit people, it is really all about money. The rich and powerful people want cannon-fodder men to go fight for them. They certainly don't want to send their own sons. For example, this war in Iraq is not about freedom, or democracy, or any of that inspiring stuff. It was initially, and it still is about access to oil. So the military is showing its cards a little bit here, and we men shouldn't be surprised. Before you young men sign-up, be clear about what kind of an organization you are joining.

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Submitted by redwoodwriter on Mon, 2010-05-31 23:46

End Commie Imperialism, AK-47 proliferation and gorious revolutions

The Military Channel has rated the AK-47, commie assault rifle the number one assault rifle of all time. They estimate roughly 500 million AK-47s, or some variation, in existence. Some people estimate more people have been killed by an AK than any other weapon, making it the WMD of all time. Yet people bash America, but make no mention of the 900 lb. gorilla in the room. Spare me the hypocrisy.

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Submitted by MR on Tue, 2010-06-01 03:45

Why redwoodwriter, I'm astonished, yes astonished at your cynicism!

Of course the military is about honor. It's about making sure the world continues to "honor" the value of our US Dollar/Petro-Dollar. It's about "being the best" military we can be to make sure our "allies" and the weaker countries out there continue to toe the line. And it's about the "freedom" to continue driving our SUVs on 1+ hour commutes from the suburbs and jump on a jumbo jet to vacation in Mexico at an affordable price when we want.

Of course the rich and powerful want cannon-fodder men, but they'd never get away with it if there wasn't also support from the middle class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrodollar_warfare

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Submitted by digitalhermit on Wed, 2010-06-02 01:02

For a compelling look at how the military is no longer about honor, or about the other lofty ideas that it claims to be about, see this article

http://mensnewsdaily.com/2010/06/01/in-memory-of-memorial-day/

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Submitted by redwoodwriter on Wed, 2010-06-02 07:47