But interesting . . . a Roman soldier's pay stubb was found. . .
Was this soldier a snuffy who could not hang onto his equipment and had to pay it back or was this typical? I suspect it might have been the first to some degree. I remember when I was a very young sergeant, back when Christ was a corporal, we had a soldier in my platoon (fortunately not in my squad) who lost all his TA-50 (personal equipment). . . not once, but twice. . . everything! How could he have done that was beyond me. His sergeant made him put his name on every piece of equipment . . . which should have done the trick, however one day I was walking up the stairs and I spotted a piece of gear on the steps. . . yup it was his. In 1974 it cost $300 to replace all the equipment. As a sergeant with 2 years of service I took home $349 a month.
The story of 'bring another' is often told but the background generally overlooked. It's from Tacitus, "The Annals" Book I, Ch. 23. The legions in Pannonia (8th, 9th and 15th Legion) mutinied against service conditions after they learnt of the death of Augustus, and 'bring another' ('cedo alteram, real name: Lucilius) was killed by the mutineers.