So your the US Government and one of your hard drives fails what do you do? Not just a hard drive but one that contains veterans personal information dating back to 1972. Well they had a hard drive fail and hey sent it back to the manufacture containing all the information who then determined the hard drive was toast. They then sent it on to be recycled. This is the largest know data leak to date. Yep way to go there

SO if your a US Vet you might want to keep a eye on your personal information to make sure someone doesn't seal your identity. Since my hubby is a vet (USMC) I'll be watching.

You can read more here

U.S. Government Suffers 'Largest Release Of Personally Identifiable Information Ever'

Bellomy told Wired.com that when the unencrypted drive failed, he tried to subvert the longstanding recycling policy by hiding the drive in his safe. But it was taken out of his control when he was put on long-term leave, he said. He also said that more drives failed after the November incident, and that he performed a forensic scan on them to prove they were full of sensitive data.

"I said you can't turn them back in...it's against the law," Bellomy told Wired.com. "We have no clue how many drives have been sent back over the past seven years since this system was in place. I am a government employee, and I'm a veteran, and just this year had both my credit cards replaced because they were compromised."