From: "Rich Gauszka" 

otherwise some silly military bureaucracy will bite you

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id
=1001993858

UPDATE: Story on Wounded Soldier Who Had to Pay for Body Armor Gets Results

By E&P Staff

Published: February 08, 2006 2:15 PM ET

NEW YORK A story in the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette yesterday, later
featured in an E&P article, stirred up a hornet's nest -- as well as
thousands of dollars in donations.

West Virginia's two U.S. senators, Jay Rockefeller and Robert Byrd, asked
top military leaders Tuesday to explain why 1st Lt. William
"Eddie" Rebrook IV apparently had to reimburse the U.S. Army $700
last week for body armor and other gear damaged after he was seriously
wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq. The military officials said it sounded
like an unusual case, but they would look into it.

More than 200 people donated at least $5,700 to Rebrook after reading about
his body armor payment to the Army in an article by Eric Eyre. The vast
majority of it came after a popular blog, AmericaBlog, called for and
collected funds, but others also contributed via the newspaper and a local
radio station.

Rebrook, 25, who attended West Point and was medically discharged from the
Army last week, said he wouldn't keep the donations. He's paying back the
people he borrowed from to take care of the $700 bill, and also passing
along the money to charity and a Louisiana woman who lost her home in
Hurricane Katrina -- the woman's son helped save his life in Iraq, he said.



http://wvgazette.com/section/Breaking/000000109

Army to reimburse soldier for body armor (12:56 pm) Eric Eyre
Staff writer

The U.S. Army will reimburse 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook of
Charleston for body armor that was destroyed after he was seriously injured
by a roadside bomb in Iraq, a Fort Hood, Texas, Army base division
spokesman said Wednesday morning.

Rebrook was made to pay for the body armor last week after being medically
discharged from the Army.

Fort Hood officials said Rebrook failed to fill out the proper paperwork
that would have exempted the body armor from a list of missing items the
soldier was charged for when he left the Army.

"There were procedures that weren't followed, and we're not sure why
they weren't," said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwell, the First Calvary
Division's spokesman at Fort Hood. "But regardless, he'll get
reimbursed for the vest. It was documented as being destroyed in
combat."

Rebrook said Wednesday that he followed the procedures.

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