Non-hostile Deaths

American Society in Crisis: Non-Hostile Deaths Overtaking Veterans

http://thesolidtruth.com/2011/11/05/american-society-in-crisis-non-hostile-deaths-overtaking-veterans/

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Death Anniversary

Statement of Stefanie E. Pelkey
before the Committee on Veterans Affairs
House of Representatives
27 July 2005

My name is Stefanie Pelkey and I am a former Captain in the U.S. Army. This testimony is on behalf of my husband, CPT Michael Jon Pelkey, who died on November 5, 2004. Although he was a brave veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he did not die in battle, at least not in Iraq. He died in a battle of his heart and mind. He passed away in our home at Fort Sill, Oklahoma from a gunshot wound to the chest. My Michael was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) only one week before his death by a licensed therapist authorized by Tricare.

The official ruling by the Department of Defense is suicide, however, many people, including myself; believe it was a horrible accident. We also believe that he would not have been sleeping with a loaded pistol if it weren’t for the PTSD.

When I met my husband, we were both officers in a Field Artillery unit in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Michael was working as the assistant Operations Officer for the unit. He was responsible and hard-working. He loved life, traveling, and having fun. He hailed from Wolcott, Connecticut and was one of six siblings. He received his commission from the University of Connecticut. Being a soldier was a childhood dream.

We were married in November 2001 and our journey as a military family began. Michael deployed for Iraq with the 1st Armored Division in March 2003, three weeks after our son, Benjamin, was born. He left a happy and proud father. He returned in late July of 2003. It seemed upon his return that our family was complete and we had made it through our first real world deployment. Aside from his lack of appetite and a brief adjustment period, he seemed so happy to be home.

He noted several concerns on his DD Form 2796, post-deployment health assessment, to include diarrhea, frequent indigestion, ringing in the ears, feeling tired after sleeping, headaches, and strange rashes. He also noted on this form that he had felt that he was in great danger of being killed while in Iraq and he witnessed the killings or dead coalition and civilians during this time. However, the most worrisome notation on this form was the admission of feeling down, depressed, and sometimes hopeless. He also noted that he was constantly on guard, and easily startled after returning from his deployment. 

A few days after returning to Germany, he reported to his primary care physician on July 28, 2003, as a part of a post-deployment health assessment. He expressed concerns to his primary care physician that he was worried about having serious conflicts with his spouse and close friends. The physician referred him to see a counselor, however, the mental health staff on our post was severely understaffed with only one or two psychiatrists. Michael was unable to get an appointment before we moved from our post in Germany to Fort Sill, Oklahoma only five days later.

There was no time for therapy and doctors’ visits, as we were packing our home and taking care of our then six-month-old son. When we got to Fort Sill, we both settled into our assignments. Everything seemed normal for a while. Michael was in the Officers Advanced Course for Field Artillery and I was a Chemical Officer for a Brigade. We settled into our home and about six months later, the symptoms of PTSD started to surface, only, we did not know enough about PTSD to connect the dots.

When my husband returned from Iraq, there were no debriefings for family members, service members, or forced evaluations from Army Mental Health in Germany. As a soldier and wife, I never received any preparation on what to expect upon my husband’s return. If only the military community had reached out to family members in some manner to prepare them for and make them aware of the symptoms of PTSD, my family’s tragedy could have been averted. I believe that it is crucial that spouses be informed about the symptoms and make a point in telling them that PTSD can happen long after what psychiatrists call an adjustment period. Spouses are sometimes the only ones who will encourage a soldier to seek help. Most soldiers I know will not willingly seek help at any military mental facility for fear of repercussions from commanders and even jibes from fellow soldiers. My husband worked around many high ranking officers and was most likely embarrassed about seeking help. What would they think of an officer having nightmares, being forgetful, and having to take anti-depressants?

Months after arriving in Oklahoma, there were several instances in which I found a fully loaded 9mm pistol under Michael’s pillow or under his side of the bed. I would yell at him and tell him that the baby could find it and get hurt. Then I would find it under the mattress or in his nightstand. I could not seem to get through to him that having this weapon was not necessary and it posed a danger. These episodes alone started to cause marital tension. Finally, after about two months of haggling over the issue of this weapon, Michael finally agreed to put his pistols away. I thought the situation was resolved. As a soldier myself, I could understand that having a weapon after being in a war might be somewhat habitual for him. Little by little, other symptoms started to arise, including forgetfulness.

Michael would not even remember to mail a bill or pick-up his own prescriptions. This became a great problem for him. How could a Captain in the US Army forget to mail bills and miss appointments? He was not like this before his deployment. One of the greatest tests PTSD posed to our marriage was that Michael began to suffer from erectile dysfunction, which would cause him to break into tears. He did not understand what was happening. I did not know what was happening.

On other occasions, he would over-react to simple things. One night, we heard something in the garage around 8 pm. It was still fairly light outside and it could have simply been a child or an animal. We lived in a small town with very little crime. Michael proceeded to run outside with a fully loaded weapon and almost fired at a neighbor’s cat. These over-reactions occurred on several occasions.

The symptoms would come and go to a point that they didn’t seem like a problem at the time. We would later laugh about them and make jokes about the little scares we had. He would always make excuses and tell me that we needed to be careful, so I let it go. There were times that everything seemed just right in our home and he seemed capable enough. He was succeeding in his career as the only Captain in a research and development unit at Fort Sill. It was a job in which he was entrusted with researching and contributing to the Army’s latest in targeting developments.

We soon bought a new house and he was so proud of it. We were finally getting settled. Then the high-blood pressure and severe chest pains surfaced along with erectile dysfunction. Finally, the nightmares began. This would be the last symptom of PTSD to arise and it was the one symptom that I feel ultimately contributed to my husband’s death. These nightmares were so disturbing that Michael would sometimes kick me in his sleep or wake up running to turn on the lights. He would wake up covered in sweat and I would hold him until he went back to sleep. He was almost child-like in these moments. In the morning, he would joke around and tell me the boogie man was going to get him and sadly, we both laughed it off.

However, at this time, I do want to point out that Michael was seeking help for all of the symptoms I have discussed. He was put on high blood pressure medication. He also complained of chest pains and was seen on three occasions in the month preceding his death. He even sought a prescription for Viagra to ease marital tensions. However, no military physician Michael ever saw could give him any answers. No doctor ever asked him about depression or linked his symptoms to the war.

Michael tried to seek help from the Fort Sill Mental Health facility but, was discouraged that the appointments he was given were sometimes a month away. So, he called Tricare and was told that he could receive outside therapy, if it was “Family Therapy” so, we took it. Family therapy, marital counseling, or whatever they wanted to call it, we were desperate to save our marriage. After all, the symptoms of PTSD were causing most of our heartaches. In the two weeks prior to his death, we saw a therapist authorized by Tricare as a couple and individually. This therapist told Michael that he had PTSD and that she would recommend to his primary care physician that he be put on medication. She also told him that she had a method of treating PTSD and she felt she could help him because he was open to receiving help. He was so excited and finally expressed to me that he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. He finally had an answer to all of his problems and some of our marital troubles. It was an exciting day for us. Not to mention, two weeks before his death, he interviewed for a position in which he would be running the staff of a General Officer. He was so proud that he was given the job after speaking with the General for only fifteen minutes. He was beaming with pride and so excited about his new job. Things were looking up for him.

He met with the therapist on a Monday. Tuesday, we celebrated our third wedding anniversary. It was a happy time. I felt hope and relief with the recent positive events. Michael must have felt something else. Friday my parents were visiting. I was at a church function and my father returned from playing golf to find Michael. He looked as if he were sleeping peacefully, except for the wet spot on his chest. His pain was finally over and his battle with PTSD was won. No, he wasn’t in Iraq but, in his mind he was there day in and day out. Although Michael would never discuss the details of his experiences in Iraq, I know he saw casualties, children suffering, dead civilians, and soldiers perish. For my soft-hearted Michael, that was enough. Every man’s heart is different. For my Michael it may not have taken much, but, it changed his heart and mind forever.

There were no indications of suicide but, plenty of signs to indicate PTSD. He suffered greatly from the classic symptoms of PTSD. It’s plain to see in retrospect. His weapon became a great source of comfort for him. He endured sleepless nights due to nightmares and images of suffering that only Michael knew.

My husband served the Army and his country with honor. He was a hard worker, wonderful husband and father. He leaves behind a 28-month-old son, Benjamin. One day I would like to tell my son what a hero his father was. He went to war and came back with an illness. Although PTSD is evident in his medical records and in my experiences with Michael, the Army has chosen to rule Michael’s death a suicide without documenting this serious illness. I have been told by the investigator that any PTSD diagnosis must be documented by an Army Mental Health Psychiatrist to be considered valid. At the time Michael sought help, he knew it was an urgent matter and was not willing to wait a month or even a few days. He knew it was time. Michael sought the help Tricare offered us and took it. Due to the fact that we were in family therapy and the fact that it was coded as family therapy, Michael is not going to get the credit he deserves. He is a casualty of war. I have heard this spoken from the mouth’s of two Generals. He came home from war with an injured mind and to let him become just a “suicide” is an injustice to someone who served their country so bravely. He loved being a soldier and he put his heart into it. I will be submitting petitions to have the PTSD officially documented and to have my husband put on the Official Operation Iraqi Freedom Casualty of War list. There are many soldiers who have committed suicide due to PTSD in Iraq and received full honors and benefits. Army Master Sergeant James C. Coons of Katy, Texas committed suicide and was found dead in his room at a hotel for outpatients being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical. Although Coons died outside a combat zone, his family’s petition to have him counted as a casualty of combat was approved. Michael deserves the same honors.

There are so many soldiers suffering from this disorder and so many families suffering the aftermath. I don’t want my Michael to have died in vain. He had a purpose in this life and that was to watch over his soldiers. I intend to keep helping him do so by spreading our story.

My husband died of wounds sustained in battle. That is the bottom line. The war does not end when they come home.

Stefanie Pelkey

Brief: DoD must alter suicide prevention plan

By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 3, 2011 18:17:03 EDT

Military suicides threaten the health of the all-volunteer forces and the Pentagon is “losing the battle” to prevent them, with active-duty members taking their own lives at a rate of one every 36 hours, a new

The policy brief, “Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide,” from the Washington-based Center for a New American Security think-tank, exhorts the Defense Department to change protocols and policies that it says hinder suicide-prevention efforts.

It recommends changes ranging from establishing unit cohesion programs after deployments to encouraging commanders to speak with troops about their privately owned firearms.

Service in wartime, say authors Margaret Harrell and Nancy Berglass, can chip away at three endemic human factors that keep people from committing suicide. Some psychiatrists have identified these as belongingness, usefulness and a natural aversion to pain or death.

According to the report, service members feel a strong sense of belonging when they are in a field unit, but this may wane after they transfer from their unit or leave the military.

Read the entire story here.

New Report: Military Losing the Battle Against Suicide

A Veteran Dies By Suicide Every 80 Minutes, Center For A New American Security Study Reveals

By Eleanor Goldberg The Huffington Post November 2, 2011

A veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes, according to a study published Monday.

Military suicides have increased since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a Center for a New American Security Suicide report. In the fiscal year 2009 alone, 1,868 veterans of these wars have made suicide attempts, according to armytimes.com.

These staggering figures underscore the need for the VA to develop more mental-health programs and an accurate system for recording the number of veterans and service members who take their lives.

"America is losing its battle against suicide by veterans and service members," authors Dr. Margaret C. Harrell and Nancy Berglass concluded. "And as more troops return from deployment, the risk will only grow."

Faced with the stigma of post-traumatic stress disorder, unemployment rates tipping 12 percent and a loss of the military camaraderie, many veterans report feeling purposeless upon returning home.

Marine Corps veteran Jason Christiansen, 35, of St. Paul, Minn. is one such veteran that nearly killed himself after watching his life unravel upon completing his service. He lost his job as an auto dealer in 2008, avoided debt collectors and fell into a serious depression, Minnesota.publicradio.org reports.

"At one point, I was sitting there with a gun in my mouth," Christiansen told the news outlet.

A friend pushed Christiansen to seek help at a VA program, a key player in the rescuing of veterans in despair.

The Veterans Crisis Line, launched in 2007, has fielded more than 400,000 calls and has saved more than 14,000 lives, according to the Veterans Affairs mental health website.

The epidemic is raging among those who are currently serving too. From 2005 to 2010, approximately one service member committed suicide every 36 hours, the CNAS study revealed.

While the VA mental-health programs have proven to be effective, the authors of the report offered concrete suggestions on how to prevent even more military members and veterans from taking their lives.

Establishing an Army unit cohesion period
When soldiers are deployed to a new mission, the unit quickly disbands, leaving service members reeling from the loss of the leaders and the service members that they had learned to trust and rely on. "This lack of unit stability following a deployment has unfortunate implications for individuals struggling with reintegration," Harrell and Berglass noted. The authors suggested that the Army follow the Marines protocol of keeping a unit together for 90 days following deployment.

Discussing personally-owned weapons with service members
Though 48 percent of military suicides in 2010 occurred at the hands of privately-owned weapons, the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act bars military leaders from broaching the topic with military members, even if they appear to be severely depressed. The authors want Congress to rescind the act, so that military leaders can, at the very least, suggest that service members purchase gunlocks or store their weapons outside of the home if they suspect that they may be at risk for committing suicide.

Improving the analysis of veteran suicide data
The VA estimates that about 18 veterans commit suicide every day, but this statistic is based on limited data. Only 16 states submit the cause of death among veterans and the VA relies on 3-year-old data for its reports. Improved information collection could help determine if veterans are committing suicide soon after leaving the military and if there's a higher risk among post-9/11 veterans compared with earlier generations, the study noted.

"The DOD does not currently take sufficient responsibility for veteran suicide," the authors said. "Given the potential implications of veteran suicide for the all volunteer force, the DOD should seek to understand which veterans, and how many veterans, are dying by suicide."

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/suicide_n_1070491.html

 

Contributed by Liz Sweet

Court-martial for 3 NCOs in wake of EOD death

By Markeshia Ricks - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 31, 2011 13:15:46 EDT

It was supposed to be a routine detonation of unserviceable ordnance and a morale booster for a couple of dozen troops at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

Instead it turned into a nearly 30-minute nightmare that left Senior Airman James Hansen dead and one soldier severely wounded.

Now, 13 months after the accident, three noncommissioned officers have been charged in Hansen’s death.

Two of the NCOs — Master Sgt. Garet Vannes and Tech. Sgt. Gregory Divito Jr. — face dereliction of duty and negligent homicide charges. Tech. Sgt. Matthew Hefti has been charged with dereliction of duty and negligent homicide.

Read the entire story here.

Report rips platoon boss behavior in fratricide

By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 31, 2011 13:05:12 EDT

A new investigation into the 2008 friendly fire death of Pfc. David Sharrett II in Iraq blasts the platoon leader who shot Sharrett and abandoned him as he lay dying, saying the officer displayed “serious personal judgment errors.”

After a botched pre-dawn raid, then-1st. Lt. Timothy Hanson left the battlefield on a helicopter while Sharrett and two of his soldiers were still missing, the report stated. Sharrett was found clinging to life at least 10 minutes after Hanson left.

“[Hanson] failed to uphold the Soldier’s Creed to include the Warrior Ethos,” wrote the chief investigator, Brig. Gen. David Bishop, chief of staff of Third Army, U.S. Army Central, “and he displayed a lack of regard for completing his assigned mission and ensuring the welfare and safety of his Soldiers which calls into question his leadership.”

The new investigation, dated March 31, is the third since Sharrett was killed. It backtracks on the first investigation’s widely reported conclusion that Hanson “misidentified” Sharrett as an insurgent and shot him because Sharrett failed to switch on his infrared beacon.

Read the entire story here.

Soldier’s Death Raises Suspicions in Chinatown

From The New York Times:

"And though military officials have reassured the Chens that a thorough investigation is being conducted, their grief is laced with suspicion, shared by their supporters in the local Chinese community, that they will never learn the truth."       

"From the little that the military has told them, family members believe that investigators are focusing on suicide as the cause of death. If that is the determination, the case may echo that of another Asian-American, Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, a Marine from California who killed himself in April in Afghanistan after fellow Marines allegedly subjected him to a brutal hazing. Last week, the Marines were ordered court-martialed. "      

Read the entire story by clicking here.

Navy calls sailor's death a suicide, but family suspects it was murder

Published: October 26, 2011

U.S. sailor Kyle Antonacci was found hanged last year while he covertly was helping an investigation that cleared another sailor of a rape accusation brought by a female Marine.

Antonacci's family, however, doesn't believe he committed suicide and fear he
might have been murdered for his role in the investigation, according to ABC News.

The family says they were first told Antonacci had died in a car crash, then that he had an aneurysm; they learned the truth about his death on Facebook, they told ABC News.

The Antonaccis say their son was targeted by the Marine's friends and had asked the Navy to move him off base at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., for protection. They say his autopsy showed facial injuries inconsistent with a self-inflicted hanging.

Read more about the death of Kyle Antonacci

Death Anniversary

PFC Christopher Klassen
December 13, 1986 — October 25, 2008

Missing evidence is among military crime lab’s new problems

WASHINGTON — The Army’s crime lab, already beleaguered by multiple internal investigations, has something new to explain: missing evidence.

Examiners misplaced evidence in a possible suicide investigation and an assault case. One of the analysts didn’t notify his superiors for months that a handwriting sample he was supposed to examine had been missing, a miscue that delayed an investigation into the matter until recently.

Meanwhile, two former senior employees of the lab’s high-profile forensics testing in Afghanistan have accused their bosses of firing them in August in retaliation for complaining about mismanagement.

Read the entire story here.

Death Anniversary

SGT Christopher T. Monroe

December 3, 1985 — October 25, 2005

When Chris turned 17, he got his mother to sign the papers so he could join the Army Reserves. Part of the reason he joined was the educational benefits that he could use when he graduated from high school. The other reason was the terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. He went to his basic training at Fort Jackson the summer of 2003. He would wear his uniform to high school twice a week during his senior year.

After he graduated from high school he was interested in going to Indiana University and he met the love of his life. Angela is a good hearted girl who was just a few months older than Chris but that made no difference to him. He had asked her to marry him about six months after they had met and her family had adopted him like he was their son.

In 2004 his reserve unit in Indiana said that a unit in Michigan needs a few people to go on a deployment to Iraq starting in the summer of 2005. Without hesitation he volunteered for this deployment and was transferred to the Michigan reserve unit. He was looking into buying a house so
that when he married Angela they had a place of their own. He wanted to get married before he went to Iraq but Angela said that they should wait because they would have plenty of time after he got back from Iraq for that.

On October 25, 2005, Chris was driving a 5 ton truck pulling an armed HUMV that was going to have maintenance work done on it. They were just outside of Basra, Iraq on a 6 lane highway with a gravel median separating the 3 lanes. Chris was driving the number two vehicle in the convoy when on the other side of the road they saw a civilian BMW flip over. The NCO with him yelled IED! but they discovered it was not an Improvised Explosive Device. The convoy from Chris on back stopped to help the civilian driver. The senior officer on site ordered Chris to pull his 5 ton across the road so the weapon on the HUMV could provide defense in front of the convoy. Everyone was to get out and provide security while the medics helped out the Iraqi civilian driver. Chris was standing on the left front side of his 5 ton with his weapon at the ready, providing a secure perimeter when it happened.

Unknown to the convoy the rear check point had let a 3 SUV British security detail enter the convoy’s perimeter. It was 850 meters from the rear check point to where Chris was standing.

The next morning around 10:30am, an Army Chaplain and a Sergeant First Class were at my door. This is where the real story about Chris begins. I was told that Chris had been killed in an accident the night before and was handed a business card to the Fort Hood Casualty Affairs Office. They told me to call them and they would give me more information. I called them and they told me as much as what I had already been told. My family was dealing with the Casualty Affairs Office at Fort Knox my father gave me the phone number to that office so I gave them a call as well. They said they did not have a copy of the divorce decree and needed to see it so I faxed it to them. It was at this point I was asked as the primary next of kin what I wanted to have done with the body. We had planned to have him sent back home to Indiana to go with what had already been planned. It was about this time they discovered I had served in the military and all information about Chris was only volunteered if I asked, and then it was limited.

Even though by Army regulation I was the primary next of kin, that was removed from me. On the Friday after he was killed I asked what the time frame was for him getting back home. I was told that when he got to Dover they would have to do an autopsy and then embalm him that this would take about 72 hours. That Friday he had not left Iraq yet but they would let me know anything when it happened. Over the weekend and Monday no one called me about Chris so Tuesday I called Fort Knox. When I asked the first thing out of the mouth of the Casualty Affairs Officer was, “Uh Oh, they have already sent an escort.” I asked what that meant because I had never had this happen before. They said Chris had arrived from Iraq Sunday night and that Chris was going to be coming in to Indianapolis the next night. I had to go to Fort Hood and get my airplane tickets to leave the next day. I got to Indiana a few hours before Chris did.

No one beyond the Chaplain and the SFC came to see me before I left for Indiana. That night my ex-wife and I met with the Casualty Affairs Officer from the reserve unit in Indiana. We went to the Indianapolis airport with a hearse to pick up Chris. The next time I saw Chris was the Flag draped coffin on the loading dock at the freight section at the airport. The Casualty Affairs officer did not bring enough people to put Chris into the hearse. The Casualty Affairs Officer, his driver, the escort, two police officers, Angela’s aunt, and I. put Chris in the hearse. At the funeral home I asked the funeral director if an autopsy had been done on Chris. He said he could not see that one had been done. Even when I got to Indiana no one from the military came to see me to offer their condolences. The Casualty Affairs Officer spent all of his time with my ex-wife even though his driver had been assigned to be her escort. Even though Chris was at his battle station with his weapon loaded ready to return fire if fired upon, he did not receive the Purple Heart. so before we buried him I gave him mine that I had received when I was in the Marines when I was in Beirut, Lebanon.

Angela had been named as the beneficiary of Chris’ SGLI and had a power of attorney to deal with Chris’ affairs before he was killed. At a meeting Angela had with the Casualty Affairs Officer. he gave her copies of the interim casualty report. When I asked for a copy of the documents I was told I would have to file a freedom of information act request to get them. When the media reported about Chris’ funeral on TV all of his family and Angela were mentioned but I was not. It was a sad joke that we made that I was nobody, just his father.

When I got back to Fort Hood and told them what had happened they could not believe it. The woman at Fort Hood that I was dealing with I had known when I was in the Army gave me the documents I could not get in Indiana.

It took about 4 months for the Army to send me the reports about the events of Chris’ death. One of the first documents I received was the autopsy results. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, they claimed. A few days later I received a copy of the final casualty report stating the cause of death was blast force trauma. It was when I got the final report from the Army investigator I had more questions than they answered. The first lie was the conditions at the time of the accident. In the report they said it was pitch black outside at 6:30pm but I had been over there and knew this is not right. I have a program for star watching that allows me to program in day, time, and place. When I put in the day, time and as close to the place of the events there was almost 2 hours of daylight when it happened.

The blame for the accident was placed on several American soldiers. rather than the driver of the SUV that had hit him. The investigator said because the British security detail driver was allowed to enter the convoys perimeter he was not at fault. I contacted the British government about this accident but they informed me they knew nothing about it. It was not a British SUV like the Army investigator said. I found out that Chris was fully conscious from the moment he was hit to the moment he died. One of the things that got me was that the onsite medical personnel took 15 minutes to determine that a traumatic surgical amputation of his right leg was urgent and he needed to be Medevaced out.

It was during the flight to the hospital that Chris died. The death certificate lists cause of death as traumatic amputation of the right leg but the autopsy does not list amputation at all. Many of the injuries listed in the autopsy were not evident on Chris. On the autopsy report the cause of death was blunt force trauma but the final casualty report the cause of death was blast force trauma. That is not a misspelling that is a mistake. All reports are screened to be sure they are accurate.

The driver of the SUV, a British citizen, works for a company called Erinys which is a South African company with its home office in London. This company serves one propose and that is to supply mercenaries to hot spots world wide. The driver a British citizen was one of these mercenaries. The director of operation in Iraq for this company is a good friend of Dick Cheney and was supposed to become the Prime Minister of Iraq but things did not work out the way they had planned. Erinys has a web site that states they have an office in Houston, Texas, but when you go to the address it is nothing but a post office box. The company states it has a manager of operation at this office but they have failed to register this office with our government. Failing to register their office is a violation of federal law. Neither the mercenary company nor the driver of the SUV is not being held accountable for the wrongful death of SGT Christopher Monroe. I was told that because the Army investigator blamed U.S. soldiers for letting the SUV pass they were the cause of death. There is a belief that the investigator was paid off by the mercenary company to put the blame on our soldiers because of the flaws in statements and documents.

The driver makes the point in his statement that at the time of the accident he was told it was not his fault. There is no way anyone could make that statement without an investigation. The SUV was destroyed that night burned in place because they said it could not be recovered but when the investigator went to the accident site later the burned our SUV was gone. That was the way of destroying any evidence.

The Casualty Affairs Officer when he received the personal effects of my son by regulation he was to hold them for 40 days so that any legal action could be made in dividing them between the mother, father, and fiancée. The Casualty Affairs Officer, who was a Captain, was advised by an Inspector General Officer of the rank of Colonel. He told the Captain to follow regulations. The Captain told the Colonel what he could do with the regulation and immediately gave all of the personal effects to the mother who said she would return things to the father and fiancée.

When I was in the military, regulation was the heart of the operations of the military. You can add to the regulation but you could never take away from the regulation. I have a JAG lawyer and Inspector General Officer who agree that by regulation I should have been the primary next of kin and the one to receive the personal effects, but the Army refuses to agree with their own regulations. I have even gone to my congressional representative and senator in getting things corrected but they have not done a thing. One of the things I was promised was photographs taken by the unit photographer of Chris in his casket at the funeral home. The Army refused to answer all requests made of them.

Perry Monroe

If you have any information about this case, please contact me through this website.

Group Asks Army for Details in Death of Chinatown Soldier

By Kristi Oloffson

Two weeks after a 19-year-old soldier and Chinatown resident serving in Afghanistan died of an apparent suicide, a local organization is asking the military to make public the details of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

OCA-NY, a social-justice group formerly known as the Organization of Chinese Americans, is sending a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh and is requesting a meeting with the secretary to discuss the death of Private Danny Chen. Chen, who was deployed over the summer, was found dead in the living quarters of an army base in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Oct. 3.

A spokesman for Chen’s parents said Army representatives have told them that their son was subjected to violence and taunting by his fellow soldiers..

Read the entire story here.

U.S. Deaths in Drone Strike Due to MIscommunication, Report Says

The Pentagon says Marines in Afghanistan and the crew controlling the drone in Nevada were unaware analysts watching the firefight via live video in Indiana had doubts about the targets' identity.

Reporting from Washington—

A Marine and a Navy medic killed by a U.S. drone airstrike were targeted when Marine commanders in Afghanistan mistook them for Taliban fighters, even though analysts watching the Predator's video feed were uncertain whether the men were part of an enemy force.

Those are the findings of a Pentagon investigation of the first known case of friendly fire deaths involving an unmanned aircraft, the April 6 attack that killed Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, 26, and Navy Hospitalman Benjamin D. Rast, 23.

Read the entire story here.

Army Releases September Suicide Data

The Army released suicide data today for the month of September. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 16 potential suicides: two have been confirmed as suicide and 14 remain under investigation. For August 2011, the Army reported 19 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, four cases have been confirmed as suicide and 15 cases remain under investigation.

During September 2011, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were six potential suicides: two have been confirmed as suicide and four remain under investigation. For August 2011, the Army reported nine potential suicides among not-on-active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of 10 cases. Three cases have been confirmed as suicide and seven cases remain under investigation.

"There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our soldiers, DA civilians, and family members," said Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army's Chief of Staff. "We need each and every member of our team. One suicide is one too many. Prevention and intervention efforts must be at the top of our priorities. They are also critical to maintaining trust, the bedrock of our profession. Soldiers must trust their fellow soldiers and their leaders to help them through difficult times. Leaders can make a difference, one soldier at a time, by recognizing and responding to high risk behavior early. I believe it is a sign of strength to ask for help."

Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org .

Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdfand Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .

The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.preventsuicide.army.mil .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).

Information about Military OneSource is located at http://www.militaryonesource.com or by dialing the toll-free number 1-800-342-9647 for those residing in the continental United States. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource website for dialing instructions for their specific location.

Information about the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/.
The Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil .
The website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is http://www.afsp.org/, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Council site is found at http://www.sprc.org/index.asp .

The website for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is http://www.TAPS.org, and they can be reached at 1-800-959-TAPS (8277).

Source:  Department of Defense Release

KBR Dodges Lawsuit From Shocked Marine

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - A Marine who was shocked while trying to install a wiring box at the military base near Fallujah, Iraq, cannot pursue negligence claims against defense contractor Kellogg Brown & Root, the 4th Circuit ruled.

     Peter Taylor had sought relief from the appellate court after a federal judge dismissed the claim in April 2010. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar had agreed with KBR that Taylor lacked subject-matter jurisdiction since the political question doctrine bars negligence claims. Doumar also found that the "combat activities" exemption of the Federal Tort Claims Act pre-empts the suit.
The 4th Circuit declined to revive Taylor's claim, but it did vacate the trial court's finding about the pre-emption issue since the lack of jurisdiction removes the judges need to consider this aspect of the case.

     Taylor, a hospital corpsman for the Marines, had been stationed at a camp about 15 miles outside Fallujah at the time of the July 2007 accident. A generator malfunction had incapacitated the tank ramp that troops used to maintain Marine tanks, Humvees and other vehicles.

     Power outages were a recurring problem for the Marines, so Taylor and others tried to find another source of electricity for the ramp, ultimately deciding to install a wiring box and hook it up to their generator. KBR technicians who had arrived at the base to work on another repair job allegedly knew that the Marines are working with the wiring on the generator. Nevertheless, one of KBR's technicians turned on the generator power while Taylor was working on it, causing him to get electrocuted, according to the complaint.
Read the whole story here.

Death Anniversary

Sgt. Loren James Janeczko, Aug. 6, 1972 - Oct. 12, 2001

After Sept. 11, 2001, Loren Janeczko returned to active service in the Army.

On Oct. 12, 2001, one short month later, Sgt. Janeczko was killed in a “shoot out” with New Jersey Police. According to media reports, he was supposed to have “flipped out” and started shooting people, wounding two fellow soldiers on the Ft. Dix Army base, fleeing in a vehicle, and then wounding two New Jersey police officers, and taking a hostage before he was shot and killed by police.
According to the richly detailed story presented to the media in a press conference, the hostage got away when Loren’s gun jammed and Loren was then killed by a member of the New Jersey Police.
The Army claimed that there had been a “mental health hearing” the morning of his death, and that “two soldiers were accompanying him to clean out his locker” prior to discharge.
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It was a year after his death when the investigation reports, requested in October 2001 through the Federal Freedom of Information Act, were received. The reports are not complete. Much of the information is redacted. One brief report is from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The other, more voluminous in terms of paper, was from the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
In a brief sentence, within the Army CID report, it is revealed that NO HOSTAGE WAS EVER TAKEN. This was confirmed on the telephone by a CID officer. Why would such a story be fabricated and fed to the media? Why has this story never been corrected in the media? The hostage story was not a garbling of events. It was presented in a formal press conference given by the New Jersey State Police spokesperson a day or two after the incident. It was a deliberate dissemination of misinformation.

Both the FBI and CID reports refer to the fact that Loren made an allegation of sexual assault against soldiers in his sleeping quarters four days before he was killed. The reports state that the Department of Defense Police on Ft. Dix were investigating the matter. He was placed in a private room for his own safety and security. He wasn’t being escorted to his locker and there wasn’t any “mental health hearing” the morning of his death. The commander had decided to turn the tables on him, as is frequently done in the Army, and to accuse him of assault. This is how the Armed Services get rid of whistleblowers and people who “make waves” by expecting to be treated with respect.

On October 12, 2001, a commanding officer decided to interrogate him for what was described, by a DOD officer’s statement to the CID, as a prolonged period of time. He was not allowed to make any arguments in his own defense and became increasingly stressed, as he watched the accused soldiers walking freely near the office and speaking to one another.

At this point, according to the report, this commanding officer decided to search his room and locker. He was ordered to lay out his possessions on the bed. Reportedly, rolled up inside a “dirty T-shirt” was a gun and ammunition. Strangely, the ‘statement’ of the DOD Police Officer In Charge (OIC), for that day’s shift, states: “…had been searching Sgt. Janeczko’s wall locker and as he had removed some items, some ammunition had fallen on the table.” Note that the OIC made no mention of a GUN! In fact, Loren possessed no gun at Ft. Dix which used that caliber ammunition.

The commanding officer, by her own statement, corroborated by other statements, said, “Now we’ve got you, buddy! You are going to jail.” She then left Loren in the room with two other soldiers and events proceeded.
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When the DOD police were called and asked for a copy of their investigation into the allegation of sexual assault, their first response was that there was no report of any allegation or investigation. After the JAG and Inspector General were contacted, the chief of the DOD Police stated that there was, indeed, an investigation report. He supplied the case number and said that it would be supplied to the family. Two weeks after that conversation, a person in the DOD Police office stated that the report would be delayed because the “legal department” was reviewing the report. A month after the request was made, another fragmentary and incomplete report was received. The summary states that the matter would be handled by the Unit Commander, however, a DOD police officer’s statement claimed that the sexual assault investigation was ongoing at the time of the Commander’s “interrogation”.
The CID report also states that the death investigation was jointly handled with the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. They house exhibit 16, which includes the total summary of the investigation, all crime scene photos and evidence.

The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice states that they are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act and that they will not give up any or all of their investigation reports. New Jersey has an Open Records Act and a Government Records Council, which has the power to help people get such information. At present, all requests for investigation reports have been denied and appealed. It seems that in the “opposite speak” so prevalent in America today, the Act is actually a Closed Records Act, designed to protect the police from scrutiny by the public.

The autopsy report supplied by the New Jersey Medical Examiner’s Office contains no forensic information. There is no ballistics information. There is no powder burn analysis, even though it was noted that Loren’s hands were “bagged.” A letter to the ME resulted in a reply that requests for further information have been referred to the NJ Division. of Criminal Justice.

Update, 2007:
I have now received an unredacted (although still incomplete) Investigation Report from the State of NJ. I also requested and received photographs, audio and video tapes, and other evidence. This required hiring a lawyer and going to the NJ Superior Court Law Division. Common law, in most States, allows the family to have access to such records.

By cross-referencing information contained within the report, I know that other specific documents have been withheld. My next task is to find someone in the government who will listen to reason and will follow the law in regard to access.

This investigation report sheds a new light on the events immediately leading up to my son’s death. I will not publicly reveal these facts here, but the story told to the media by the police and the Army differs wildly from what actually happened.

The Army, in the meantime, insists that they must suspend the re-investigation of the case and a DoD Hotline case, while individual civilian police sue the Army in the US District Court for money damages. Naturally, this makes no sense at all to the family. We have never threatened to sue the Army and we know that, in any case, we are precluded from doing that by the Feres Doctrine.
There will surely be an appeal if the tort case is dismissed, which will prolong the inactivity of the investigations. It is all a well-established method of withholding information. I maintain that there is no valid excuse for suspending and withholding new investigation material from an immediate family trying to understand what happened.

No forensics have been released by any of the three agencies involved. Repeated requests of the FBI have only resulted in FOIA denials so far.

I will press on.

Update, 2009:
The Department of Defense Hotline Inspector General, in a written report, has acknowledged that the Department of Defense Police on Ft. Dix did not meet their responsibility of investigating a reported sexual assault. They did no investigation at all, instead, turning the matter over to Command, as has been very common in the military services. (This is often the time when soldiers who have reported sexual assault by fellow service members will be punished for doing so.)

I have also obtained the depositions in the Civil Tort. This turned out to contain much valuable information about Loren’s death and the events leading up to it. There are also specific references to additional investigation material, including who possesses it. Some of this material was already requested in the Superior Court and declared “lost.”

The officer who has referred to herself as his Commander, was actually a Major and the Mobilization Commander, and had only met Loren the morning of his death. She set the day in motion and then proceeded to manage the media reporting from Ft. Dix. She also arrived at the scene of Loren’s death and identified his body at the Medical Examiner’s Office, referring to herself the whole time as “his Commander.” Her name appeared in the autopsy report incorrectly, either an inadvertent clerical error or a deliberate attempt to mislead. It was revealed in her testimony that she had previously worked in the NJ Attorney General’s Office and that the lead investigator in the death investigation was someone she referred to as her “buddy.”

There is much more to this story, but the Army is being given an opportunity to do the actual investigation of the events leading up to Loren’s death. It’s been eight years. I wonder how much longer they will take.
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Update, 2011:
I continue to ferret out information and documents, even though certain specific documents and evidence are being withheld without explanation by people who simply have the power to keep our family at bay.  I'm hoping that someone from the giant blue wall of silence (police) or the giant green wall of silence (Army) will want to unburden his/her conscience after ten years.  I'm not looking to sue, I just want to have the truth come out.
-------------------------------------------------

I have serious concerns about the climate of our country in terms of the Media and of the inordinate power of Federal agencies to keep secrets.

The print and electronic media in this country is willing to publish whatever they are told by police without any independent verification. The “facts” published are fed by other unverified “facts” which appear to fit the pattern of whatever scenario has been presented. The media is now an entertainment business, which does not encourage actual investigative reporting with very few exceptions.

As we know from current events, the Federal Government now has usurped the power of the people in the United States. Expectations that public servants must respond to requests for information are ignored and the people have become the servants of the Government.

We can reverse these injustices, but only if each of us makes the personal effort to challenge the government, at any level, and insisting that government honors its responsibility to provide truthful information.

Donna Janeczko

If you have any information about this case, please contact me through this website.

"Friendly Fire"

Link to discussion of "friendly fire" non-combat deaths on The Truth Has Changed radio show.

Link to "friendly fire" documentary trailer and showing dates.

Death Anniversary

Col. Michael R. Stahlman               October 5, 2008

Link to story by Cilla McCain



Electrocution case against KBR can be tried in U.S. court, judge rules

By Charlie Reed

Stars and Stripes

Published: October 4, 2011

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A civil lawsuit brought against KBR by the parents of a U.S. soldier electrocuted in Iraq can go forward in U.S. court, after a federal judge ruled the case should not be governed by Iraqi laws.

Attorneys for the defense contractor had argued that Iraqi laws should apply to the case because Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s death in 2008 occurred on a military base in Iraq. But, for the second time in four months, Judge Nora Barry Fischer sided with Maseth’s family, saying U.S. law is applicable because the base was under American control, according to an Associated Press report.

The 24-year-old Maseth, a Green Beret, died in January 2008 while showering at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, a facility maintained by KBR. A Defense Department investigation concluded that KBR workers failed to properly ground a water pump, which led to his electrocution.

Fischer’s ruling — handed down last month in the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania — means KBR could be found liable and ordered to pay punitive damages to the plaintiffs, Cheryl Harris and Douglas Maseth.

“I’m very pleased. It’s been a long 3½ years,” Harris, Maseth’s mother, told Stars and Stripes from her Pennsylvania home Monday. “KBR is trying to prolong the case and argue everything they can.”
In her ruling, the judge found that KBR’s attorneys were trying to have it both ways. The judge said in a footnote that, in her view, KBR’s litigation strategy “is one that constantly shifts to a point where it eventually takes contradictory positions,” according to the AP report.

Fischer had made the same ruling in June, but KBR lawyers had asked her to reconsider.

She noted that KBR first argued it couldn’t be sued because the Army exercised an “envelope of control” over the contractor and its work at the base, so the judge shouldn’t even have jurisdiction or, at least, KBR shouldn’t bear any ultimate responsibility for anything that went wrong there. But later, the judge said, KBR argued that Iraqi law should hold sway because the country’s laws dictated much of what went on at the base — including the sometimes shoddy construction of Iraqi buildings that were commandeered and used to house soldiers like Maseth, according to the AP.

Daniel Russell, an attorney for KBR, said Monday the contractor had no immediate comment on the decision, the AP said.

Following a string of other fatal and nonfatal electrical incidents involving U.S. personnel in Iraq, it was Maseth’s death that spurred a DOD investigation into the widespread electrical problems at bases throughout the country. Both KBR employees and military commanders failed to ensure the safety of troops at the base where Maseth was electrocuted in the shower, according to a July 2009 inspector general report.

KBR reported electrical problems at the palace complex to the military before Maseth was killed, yet was never told to fix the problems until after his death, a KBR spokeswoman told USA Today that same month.

The IG report found that electrical shocks were so commonplace that many incidents went unreported and were considered to be just part of duty in Iraq.

Despite the IG’s findings, the Army decided no one should be held criminally liable for Maseth’s electrocution.

While many contractors and government employees “breached their respective duties of care … none of those breaches in and of themselves were the proximate cause of his death,” the Army said in a statement released after the IG report came out.

The Army’s handling of the case disturbs Harris as much as KBR’s failure to take responsibility in the case.

“Soldiers are shocked and shocked and then one is killed, and it’s no one’s fault?” Harris said Monday.

Fischer now must determine whether to apply liability laws from Pennsylvania, Maseth’s home state; Tennessee, where Maseth’s unit was based; or Texas, where KBR is headquartered, AP reported.

reedc@pstripes.osd.mil

Read the entire story here.
More:

Judge: U.S. laws govern shower death lawsuit

Death by Polypharmacy

This is a link to a discussion with Stan White on the topic of polypharmacy used as a "treatment" for PTSD.

Here is a link to an article discussing the same issue.