FrancisPage: Sergeant Behling's Story

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Sergeant Behling's Story

In this week's edition of The Lightning Round I told you about Air Force Sgt. Bradley Behling, who found PODS mistakenly sold all his stored stuff out from under him. KVVU-TV in Las Vegas shared his story, and I am impressed with Sgt. Behling's calm and reasoned determination in light of such a huge mess-up and PODS' corporate red tape.

His story was posted to SimHQ, a place for simulation game enthusiasts. Sgt. Behling responded with a posting of his own, which I have every reason to believe is legit. Read it and you see a portrait of a upstanding serviceman, one we should all be proud of, and one I am thankful is serving this nation. He lays out the entire story, but what struck me were these last sentences:

I returned from war and was awarded the Bronze Star for my actions in a combat zone. I currently possess a Top Secret security clearance making me part of an elite few people in the Air Force -- one does not get that by lying or by being an opportunist. I am only asking for what I lost. I can provide you with affidavits from my ex-wife, friends, supervisors, commanders, or whom ever you wish, but I can not let this hang over my head for another 12-18 months. Given the same set of circumstances I doubt that few people would have been as patient. I just can not continue to operate in the state of financial limbo that PODS has forced upon me. My job, my personal life, and the financial future of my family are suffering as a result of this and I can no longer tolerate any delay ... I was fiscally sound before I deployed and looking forward to retiring from the military in the next few years. Now my finances are in ruin, everyday brings more finance charges, and interest on bills I should never have had in the first place. This process has scarred me for life, and the $65,000 I would have been willing to settle for in January of this last year has grown because of those interest charges, and the lawyer I must now pay.

It absolutely floors me that Sgt. Behling has to pay for a lawyer. You would think some legal eagle would have the decency to take this case on pro bono. At the very least, it's a way of thanking our servicemen. Sgt. Behling has willingly put his life on the line for us in a war that not many people want anymore. That ought to mean something.

Sgt. Behling, a salute from a re-enactor soldier may be worth nothing militarily, but I'm saluting you. You deserve better. I pray you get it... along with your stuff.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Rules Of Engagement

The views expressed on this blog are those of Christopher Francis and the various respondents. They are not necessarily those of his employer, KOLD-TV, KMSB-TV, Gray Television or TEGNA, Inc.

Practice your honors. Spam, racism and excessive language in comments will not be tolerated.

All material is Copyright © 2004-2019 By Christopher Francis except for material identified from other sources which is the property of those other sources. No infringement is intended.

Links and video embedded in postings may fail to work properly after several weeks from the date of the original post. I have no control over this.

In personal accounts, numerous names have been omitted as a courtesy so that their remarks may be shared without risk of embarrassment.

Contestants must meet eligibility requirements. Segments not affecting the outcome of the game have been edited. Celebrities have been briefed in order to help them with their bluffs. Due to a production problem, the car game was replaced. Two incomplete rolls of the dice were edited from the program. Prices of the prizes do not include sales tax. Some celebrities have been provided with comedic material.