Our wounded soldiers being billed for meals

fishbane · 09-24-2003, 11:59 PM

How about that boys and girls.
After being sent off to war and being wounded in action in Iraq. Our Service men and women get a bill for the meals they received while in they were in hospital.
Once again the bush administration shows how it honors our troops. This after cutting veterans benefits and services across the board and lieing about Iraq to get them there.

Once again I call this administration traitors to the people.

Cool Texan · 09-25-2003, 06:20 AM

"The rule was established because most military personnel receive $8.10 a day as a basic allowance for subsistence for food."

"The government already bends the rules for soldiers in combat. They are allowed keep the $8.10 even though they are also getting free food, according to Young's office."

"That's standard because of a law Congress passed in 1981."

Therefore:

1) Blame Reagan, if anyone.
2) Should they reimburse Uncle Sam when in the hospital, or stop collecting the $8.10 for all other days they are not in the hospital? Seems that they get a decent deal as is.

http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/S...629833,00.html

Straydog · 09-25-2003, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Seems that they get a decent deal as is.

Yea, heck, for the little it is costing them they should be pleased with being shot in a foreign country.
I can think of little that demonstrates "I'm ok, who cares about you anyway?" more clearly than this situation.

(Edited at Crabbaits request.)

[ 09-26-2003, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: STGRule ]

MasterMariner · 09-25-2003, 07:18 AM

Wow....talk about some inflamitory nonsense. I'm always amused how the "anti-Bush" crowd will say anything and twist incomplete pieces of information and present them as "the truth."

Cool Texan · 09-25-2003, 07:42 AM

Stray,

All I did was post a few quotes from one article, and thus draw a conclusion from it.

The article seems to indicate they get a food allowance of $8 a day, and get food....thus allowing them to keep the stipend. Then when hospitalized, they are not allowed to keep the $8 by way of being "billed" for food, which they have been given money for. Therefore, assuming they spend more days out of the hospital than in it, they come out ahead. Thus, it seems like a pretty good deal.

Should they be happy to be there? Probably not. Should they complain about it? No. They signed up for this job, and we all appreciate them doing it. As for this meal-deal, none of us know all the details on this.

[ 09-26-2003, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: STGRule ]

Straydog · 09-25-2003, 07:52 AM

Cool,

No, they are not getting a "good deal". I am not sure what would illustrate a "good deal"
for volunteering your life for the good of a your country.

[ 09-25-2003, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: Straydog ]

Straydog · 09-25-2003, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Therefore, assuming they spend more days out of the hospital than in it, they come out ahead. Thus, it seems like a pretty good deal.

This attitude and the ongoing input of some makes me think it's all about money, numbers and "just a budget" in some people's world.
:depressed:

:depressed:

[ 09-25-2003, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: Straydog ]

clearview2u · 09-25-2003, 08:20 AM

Paying for hospital food should be a crime(the food is usually gross). Also I have had several meal on the USS Enterprise CVN65. I would say paying me $8 a day to eat that food would be an underpayment. Military personal should not have to pay for their food while in the hospital during wartime.

Hoosier Daddy · 09-25-2003, 08:36 AM

Looks like an accounting issue to me.

DanS · 09-25-2003, 09:08 AM

There is legislation on the floor of Congress now to re-write the law so this doesn't happen to others.

A republican congressman from Florida payed the $210 bill for the soldier that sent him notice that this is taking place. I'd call him a compassionate conservative.......or just compassionate.

I don't think paying the 8 bucks for wounded soldiers to eat while hospitalized is asking very much.......not when $87 billion is being requested for our occupation. And if the other active soldiers get 8 bucks daily to eat when they already get fed........so what? It's a drop in the bucket in the big picture.

It's hard to say the country cares about our vets when we won't pay for a wounded soldier's meals while they are hospitalized.

Cool Texan · 09-25-2003, 09:12 AM

Does anyone have any insight as to what the rules are and how this all really works? I'd be curious to read it.

That one article I found made it sound like they get $8 a day, plus get food...but when hospitalized, they have to give back that $8 in lieu of the food. While it is odd, it doesn't sound like a horrible thing....unless someone serves for fewer days in the field than they spend in the hospital...then yeah, its a bad deal.

It's likely that it is not this cut and dry...but who knows.

wannacatchem · 09-25-2003, 09:24 AM

I won't pretend to be an expert as I only spent 20 years in the military and was lucky enough to miss getting shot at, but one reason you have to pay for your food in a hospital is that you are no longer in a combat zone. If the hospital was located in a hazardous duty zone, you wouldn't pay. That being said, I think having to pay after getting injured in the line of hazardous duty is a really stupid law and laws can be changed instantly. It's called an Excecutive Order. I'm not happy with the current Commander in Chief, but he ain't at fault on this one

foxer · 09-25-2003, 10:45 AM

This isnt just aimed at SD, but voluntering for the military does many things for those who choose
#1 Free room / board and all medical expenses while in the service..
#2 Retire with pension after 20yrs.
#3 I know the pay is low, but hey job security.
#4 Preferential hiring for ALL govenment jobs after you are discharged.

This is not meant to slame anybody who has been in the military. If I could do it over again, I would have signed up.

I remember in the 1st gulf war some parents complaining that their children were going to war saying the didnt expect this, well thats what happens when you volunteer.

MasterMariner · 09-25-2003, 12:29 PM

Going into Iraq was the right thing to do. I'de rather fight terrorisim in the terrorists back yard (Middle East) than in the USA.
The Iraqi people have suffered terrible oppresion under Saddam. I seem to remember a small group of colonies that suffered similar oppression under British rule. With the help of France, these colonists were able to overthrow the depotic British rule and become a free nation.
Iraq is a "resource rich" (oil) nation and will be capable of paying the monetary cost of its liberation once it gets on its feet.

Hogback · 09-25-2003, 05:00 PM

Master Mariner
If my memory serves the French aided during didn't start the revolution. Our Fore Fathers started what the French helped end. If the people of Iraq were so unhappy why didn't they free themselves? I don't mind helping somebody get their truck out of the ditch, but I don't want to be the first to start pushing while the owner sits in the cab.

2LEYS · 09-25-2003, 08:19 PM

Quote:

oh they were tyrants according to who?

According to who????? According to EVERY media source in the entire world. According to the Iraqi people. According to the "**** rooms" in the palaces of Sadaam and his sons.

I mean come on....You have to be kidding me. You can argue wheather or not we should be there or not but you CANNOT argue the fact that Sadaam and his sons were extreme tyrants.

Stratocaster · 09-25-2003, 09:00 PM

Congress passed a bill repealing this. Bush is going to sign it. Election seasons upon us.

[ 09-27-2003, 11:27 AM: Message edited by: fisherdan ]

dampainter · 09-25-2003, 11:03 PM

the paper said the report will state no weapons of mass destruction found in iraq, is that not the reason we went in? what about others such as north korea? we have found people in saddams regime so what? what did they do? oh they were tyrants according to who? this whole mess ought to make every tax paying american.... fume?. we had no business going in there period. we have just about destroyed their whole infrastuture and so it is up to the american taxpayer to foot the bill to rebuild iraq, thanks....boss . [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

dampainter · 09-26-2003, 10:23 PM

okay so maybe they were tyrants, maybe not...they are all over the world, think we ought to go kick some butt 2leys? how bout instead we take care of our own backyard first?...medical/health care, welfare, unemployment for starters, with the pricetag of this iraq mess think these things among others are going to get better? we are not the worlds babysitter we have our own country to run.

[ 09-27-2003, 01:20 PM: Message edited by: dampainter ]

Buzzy · 09-27-2003, 08:23 AM

Having been shot at and having lost several close friends in one of this countries "undeclared" wars I find I need to say something here.

I enlisted in the army in 1971, after my number in the draft lottery turned out to be #22 and I joined so I could pick my duty.

I believe what you are talking about is the subsistence allowance that is paid to uniformed service members who do not have access to one of thier mess halls. This was the practice even as far back as my time frame. However, our services and vets have many other problems sort of related to this.

When I joined I was told by the recruiter that I would have education benefits that I could use whenever I wanted to for life. I stayed in the service for ten years. I never tried to use any benefits until 1988. I was then informed that congress had changed my benefits package and limited it's usage timeframe to 10 years after your honorable discharge. Not only that but they had managed to leave the time frame that I enlisted under totally out of the package and I could not get anything at all.

I am now classified as service connected disabled, and as such I have seen the gross underfunding of our VA system that is actually going on. Our Legislators play a look good game while not fully funding the system to meet the requirements that it has. The latest cost cutting measure that was beaten back was a round of Hospital closures across the nation.

Frankly, our veterans are getting screwed, and no one in power seems to be doing anything about it.

DanS · 09-27-2003, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Frankly, our veterans are getting screwed, and no one in power seems to be doing anything about it.

That's right.........and the populace seems not interested either. They put "I Support Our Troops" stickers on their cars, but they don't DEMAND that their elected officials support our tropps and vets by voting accordingly.

Supporting our troops means supporting our vets, and yet we do a poor job of it. :depressed:

happybrew · 09-27-2003, 05:18 PM

[quote]Originally posted by DanS:

Quote:

Supporting our troops means supporting our vets, and yet we do a poor job of it. :depressed:

Got that right. I know people who received injuries in the National Guard, and couldn't work as a result, and got NOTHING for it. One guy lost his house because he couldn't work from an injury sustained at Ranger school, and nobody in the Guard or the VA gave a rip about it. The VA never sent a whole year's worth of college money due to me, and phone calls and letters didn't get anywhere. I never got a response to my letters, and my phone calls got transferred ad-nauseum, and I never actually got to talk to anyone who could or would do anything. I ended up putting my tuition on a credit card and paying 20% interest on it, and working to pay it off. We take horrible care of our vets.

happybrew