Military races to inspect more than 90,000 facilities to reduce deadly threat
WASHINGTON - The military is racing to inspect more than 90,000 U.S.-run facilities across Iraq to reduce a deadly threat troops face far off the battlefield: electrocution or shock while showering or using appliances.
Pfc. Justin Shults shows some of the burn wounds he received after being electrocuted in a shower facility in Iraq, in this photo taken in January in San Antonio, Texas. Shults suffered third-degree burns on 13-percent of his body. He is suing contractor KBR Inc. for faulty wiring of the facility. (Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News via AP) About one-third of the inspections so far have turned up major electrical problems, according to interviews and an internal military document obtained by The Associated Press. Half of the problems they found have since been fixed but about 65,000 facilities still need to be inspected, which could take the rest of this year. Senior Pentagon officials were on Capitol Hill this week for briefings on the findings
Read the whole story by clicking here.
US troops in Iraq victims of faulty wiring from The Guardian (UK)
Shoddy wiring 'everywhere' on Iraq bases, Army inspector says CNN
Editor's note: If it were not for the lawsuit against KBR by the Maseth family, I doubt that these serious, deadly problems would ever be addressed. Unfortunately in the US, it takes a civil lawsuit to make the government meet their responsibilities to keep military personnel safe.
The civil lawsuit has gotten the attention of the media, and sometimes that is the only way that justice is addressed in America.
Braveheart
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Marine’s Family Asks for Right to Sue Government for Medical Malpractice
Thursday, March 26, 2009 :: Staff infoZine
By Alex Hering - Marine Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez fought in Iraq but lost his life fighting a different war.
Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - Cancer that went undiagnosed for nearly nine years killed the 29-year-old Rodriguez, of Ellenville, N.Y., said his sister, who testified about her family's story Tuesday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
"Carmelo wanted his story to be heard, even if his life couldn't be saved. He wanted to ensure that what happened to him would not happen to another service member," Ivette Rodriguez said.
To read the entire story, click here.
By Alex Hering - Marine Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez fought in Iraq but lost his life fighting a different war.
Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - Cancer that went undiagnosed for nearly nine years killed the 29-year-old Rodriguez, of Ellenville, N.Y., said his sister, who testified about her family's story Tuesday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
"Carmelo wanted his story to be heard, even if his life couldn't be saved. He wanted to ensure that what happened to him would not happen to another service member," Ivette Rodriguez said.
To read the entire story, click here.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Developments in Maseth Case
KBR keeps witness info concealed, lawyer says 18 Mar 2009 A lawyer for the parents of an electrocuted soldier on Tuesday accused defense contractor KBR Inc. of concealing information from unnamed witnesses interviewed after his 2008 death in Iraq. Court papers show those witnesses might be current or former KBR employees and subcontractors... who performed electrical work in the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, where Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Shaler, died Jan. 2, 2008. Records show his death is one of 18 electrocutions in Iraq since 2003.
Filing: Faulty pump installed by KBR 13 Mar 2009 A rooftop pump supplying water to a shower that electrocuted a Shaler soldier was installed by a plumber working in Iraq under defense contractor KBR Inc. in 2006, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, a decorated Green Beret, died Jan. 2, 2008, when an electrical current flowed through pipes and charged the water of his shower in the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad. Papers filed by KBR's Pittsburgh counsel, attorney Joseph Luciana III, include an e-mail from an Army investigator who said a KBR plumber admitted installing the pump atop Maseth's living quarters.
Filing: Faulty pump installed by KBR 13 Mar 2009 A rooftop pump supplying water to a shower that electrocuted a Shaler soldier was installed by a plumber working in Iraq under defense contractor KBR Inc. in 2006, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, a decorated Green Beret, died Jan. 2, 2008, when an electrical current flowed through pipes and charged the water of his shower in the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad. Papers filed by KBR's Pittsburgh counsel, attorney Joseph Luciana III, include an e-mail from an Army investigator who said a KBR plumber admitted installing the pump atop Maseth's living quarters.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Stephen Madison Story
Click here to go to Ms. Sparky's blog to read about a soldier scalded by hot water in Iraq, who eventually died of complications.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Electrocution Deaths Discussed
Debbie Crawford is a whistleblower who has been brave enough to expose the contractor KBR's (Kellogg, Brown & Root's) part in the electrocution deaths of military personnel in Iraq. Here is a link to her video interview with Rachel Maddow.
This is a link to her blog and Senate Testimony on the subject.
This is a link to her blog and Senate Testimony on the subject.
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