Published February 2006 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Meeting Our Troops' Needs
I am proud of the men and women of America's Armed Forces. Whether active duty, Reservist, or National Guard, our troops volunteer for their jobs; they carry out their missions; they risk their lives. In return, they only ask for the support of their country, both in terms of equipment and resources during their service and medical care when they come home. This week, one West Virginia soldier's story caught the attention of the nation, and I hope that it serves as a wake-up call for the civilian leadership and the top brass at the Pentagon. First Lieutenant William Rebrook was medically discharged from the Army after he suffered shrapnel wounds in Iraq. After he was attacked, military medics evacuated him from the battlefield. His body armor was removed so that emergency doctors could treat his wounds. That was the last time that Lieutenant Rebrook saw that armor. Before he could be discharged and return home to Charleston, the military handed him a $700 bill for his destroyed body armor. I find it astounding that the Pentagon would ask soldiers, wounded in battle, to pay for equipment damaged or destroyed during their service. At a hearing this week of the Armed Services Committee, I brought the case of Lieutenant Rebrook to the attention of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I urged them to take this story, and so many others like it, seriously. Already, friends and family members of many soldiers have dug deep into their pockets to pay for body armor and other key pieces of equipment. And when a soldier is injured, he or she should not be forced to pay for equipment that doctors and medical teams discard so they can treat those injuries. Our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen are the finest in the world. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude for their service to our country. But we also owe them something more. We owe them not only mega-million dollar missiles and tanks and airplanes but also basic body armor and detection devices to protect them from the deadly nickel-and-dime IEDs of the Iraqi insurgency. And we owe them a military health care system and a veterans' benefits program that serve them as well as they have served the nation. The Pentagon needs to remember that the military's strength is not centered in fancy weapons systems. but in the spirit and courage of the men and women who serve in our nation's Armed Forces. February 8, 2006