The families of those fallen in non-combat deaths have gotten together in common cause several times in recent history. We at Home of the Brave are the direct descendants of Until We Have Answers and MAMMA. (See our website: http://non-combat-death.org/historyportal.htm for some history on this.)
It is always a pesky development when actual citizens get together to fight against the lies told by our very own government or to fight for the release of information which is somehow deemed to be the property of the government which we help fund with our tax payments. I think that mothers and fathers, especially, find this attitude totally unacceptable when it comes to the children which we have borne and raised. You really shouldn't underestimate our tenacity and determination. We have the right to know the truth.
Since I've just read a book titled, A Chain of Events: The Government Cover-up of the Black Hawk Incident and the Friendly-Fire Death of Lt. Laura Piper, written by her mother, Joan L. Piper, I'd like to fill in some of the history of Families rallying for a common cause around non-combat deaths.
The Black Hawk Family group formed in 1994 and existed for several years after. It formed as a result of a "friendly fire" incident in which two US Black Hawk Helicopters flying over Iraq were blown up with missiles launched by two US F-15 fighter jets in a truly unexplainable event. Twenty-six people were killed, fifteen of them Americans. No guilt was ever assigned in a military court system.
As usual, the incident wasn't clearly reported as "friendly fire" until it was impossible to suppress the information. There were military and civilian persons aboard the helicopters from England, France, and Turkey. They were on their way to a meeting in Turkey with the full knowledge of US Military Air Surveillance. The foreign governments were outspoken in their condemnation of this senseless attack. Eventually, the Pentagon gave the families of those foreign nationals monetary compensation to quiet them down.
Monetary compensation was eventually given to the American victims as well through the efforts of the family group. That forced official recognition of the wrongful deaths of fifteen American military personnel.
They also fought for purple hearts posthumously and eventually got them. The battle was hard-fought, however, in order to accomplish this. The government argued that the victims were not killed in battle and so did not qualify. The families argued that they were over a battle zone and certainly in danger when the Air Force pilots decided to strike at helicopters which they did not properly identify. Ironically, if the Pentagon had managed to cover-up the truth and the attack was believed to have been an enemy attack, purple hearts would have been automatically awarded.
Add the fact that helicopters flying slowly and low to the ground in the No Fly Zone of any nation posed little threat to other planes flying at much higher altitudes.
The Black Hawk families acted as their own detectives, eked out hidden information about the personnel involved in the attack and about mistakes made by many which added to this tragedy. They had letter writing campaigns to obtain help from their elected representatives. They managed to get some public admissions of culpability although, in the end, according to Joan Piper, the Pentagon managed to keep high ranking officers from honoring subpoenas served by the Government Accountability Office which would have brought the culpability out in the open and forced legal accountability.
It was an "almost" victory from the families, who, of course would never be the same again after the deaths of their loved ones.
Nevertheless, their fight yielded results which could be produced only by a group effort. They did not shy away from the controversy and did not accept lies in lieu of sad truths.
I find inspiration from reading the story of this group of families and I hope that those of you out there in America who find yourselves fighting a similar battle will be similarly inspired. Keep up the good fight.
------------
Donna Janeczko
Our View: Army Owes Family Some Clear Answers
Showing posts with label Wrongful Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wrongful Death. Show all posts
Monday, November 01, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Fort Drum soldier gets up to life for stabbing
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — A Fort Drum soldier who admitted stabbing two Army buddies to death at their apartment near their military post was sentenced Friday to 45 years to life in prison.
Spc. Joshua Hunter pleaded guilty last month to killing Waide James, 20, of Cocoa, Fla., and Diego Valbuena, 23, of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., in November at the duplex the three men shared near Fort Drum's main entrance.Read the entire story by clicking here.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Eight Armenian Army Officers Discharged Over Soldier Deaths
Artak Nazarian
August 09, 2010
YEREVAN -- Eight Armenian officers have been discharged from the army and more than a dozen others demoted following seven noncombat shooting deaths last month, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.
In a statement released today, the Defense Ministry clarified that they include commanders, deputy commanders, and other senior officers, but did not identify them.
Television images showed that there was one colonel and at least two lieutenant colonels among them. According to the statement, 13 other "commanders and service chiefs" were relieved of their duties and will be demoted. Another 20 officers got off with formal reprimands.
The punitive measures were triggered by incidents at two frontline army detachments on July 27-28. In one of those units stationed in the northern Tavush region, a 30-year-old lieutenant, Artak Nazarian, was found dead in still unclear circumstances. His relatives believe he was killed by fellow servicemen.
Military investigators say, however, that Nazarian committed suicide after being badly ill-treated by a deputy commander of his battalion and three soldiers. All four men are under arrest pending investigation.
Nazarian's death was followed by the fatal shooting of one officer and five soldiers at another unit deployed in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian confirmed during a meeting with senior officers on August 6 that military investigators believe one of those soldiers, Karo Ayvazian, went on a shooting spree and killed himself after a bitter dispute with the officer.
Also during that meeting, two men apparently arrested in connection with other deadly incidents were brought in. Armenian Public Television described one of them as a conscript who shot one of his officers, and the other as an officer who beat to death a sergeant.
Source: Radio Free Europe
August 09, 2010
YEREVAN -- Eight Armenian officers have been discharged from the army and more than a dozen others demoted following seven noncombat shooting deaths last month, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.
In a statement released today, the Defense Ministry clarified that they include commanders, deputy commanders, and other senior officers, but did not identify them.
Television images showed that there was one colonel and at least two lieutenant colonels among them. According to the statement, 13 other "commanders and service chiefs" were relieved of their duties and will be demoted. Another 20 officers got off with formal reprimands.
The punitive measures were triggered by incidents at two frontline army detachments on July 27-28. In one of those units stationed in the northern Tavush region, a 30-year-old lieutenant, Artak Nazarian, was found dead in still unclear circumstances. His relatives believe he was killed by fellow servicemen.
Military investigators say, however, that Nazarian committed suicide after being badly ill-treated by a deputy commander of his battalion and three soldiers. All four men are under arrest pending investigation.
Nazarian's death was followed by the fatal shooting of one officer and five soldiers at another unit deployed in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian confirmed during a meeting with senior officers on August 6 that military investigators believe one of those soldiers, Karo Ayvazian, went on a shooting spree and killed himself after a bitter dispute with the officer.
Also during that meeting, two men apparently arrested in connection with other deadly incidents were brought in. Armenian Public Television described one of them as a conscript who shot one of his officers, and the other as an officer who beat to death a sergeant.
Source: Radio Free Europe
Monday, August 09, 2010
Pat Tillman's mother on Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal: I told you so
Mary Tillman speaks on Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his role in covering up the truth about her son's death.
August 08, 2010By Mary Tillman
Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal was forced to retire because of remarks he made to a Rolling Stone reporter. Having read the article that led to his departure, I feel strangely validated. "The Runaway General" described by journalist Michael Hastings is exactly the arrogant individual I believed him to be.
McChrystal was in charge of Joint Special Operations Command in 2004, when my son, Pat, was killed in Afghanistan. But I didn't become aware of him until March 2007. That's when someone anonymously sent an Associated Press reporter a copy of a high-priority correspondence. The memo was written on April 29, 2004, by McChrystal and sent to Gen. John P. Abizaid, Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown and Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr. Its purpose was to warn President George W. Bush and other officials to avoid making public comments about Pat's heroic death at the hands of the enemy, because it was beginning to seem "highly possible that Corporal Tillman was killed by friendly fire."
The memo went on to caution against "unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Corporal Tillman's death become public."
We knew nothing about this memo at the time it was written. In fact, we did not learn until weeks after Pat's memorial service that it was even possible he was killed by friendly fire.
The memo makes it clear there was no intention of telling the truth unless circumstances made it absolutely necessary. Much later, during Brig. Gen. Gary Jones' investigation of Pat's death, McChrystal was asked why we were kept in the dark.
"Question: Once you became aware that this was a possible fratricide, was there a conscious decision made not to tell the family of the possibility?"
"Witness: There was a conscious decision on who we told about the potential because we did not know all the facts. I did tell the senior leadership [long redaction] about the possibility prior to the memorial ceremony, because I felt they needed to know that before the ceremony. I believe that we did not tell the family of the possibility because we didn't want to give them a half-baked finding."
McChrystal says they didn't want to give us a half-baked finding. Yet that is exactly what they did. Rather than being told there were questions about Pat's death, we were presented with a contrived story, an absolute lie about how he had been killed by enemy fire.
What many people don't realize is that Pat's autopsy and field hospital report were very suspicious from the start. The autopsy gives a description of Pat's body that led us to later question if the autopsy was even his, and the field hospital report contains language that suggests he was alive when he was brought back to the field hospital at Forward Operating Base Salerno. Yet soldiers' statements indicated Pat was decapitated by the barrage of bullets, and he was deemed killed in action by the medic on the scene.
These horrifying discrepancies raised dire questions. Even the medical examiner called for a criminal investigation, but the adjutant general prevented it from going forward. By covering up the circumstances of Pat's death, McChrystal and the rest of the chain of command may have, knowingly or unknowingly, covered up a crime.
McChrystal's actions should have been grounds for firing him back then. That is why it was so disturbing to us when President Obama instead promoted McChrystal to the position of top commander in Afghanistan last year. At the time, I sent the president an e-mail and a letter reminding him of McChrystal's involvement in Pat's coverup. In the letter, I suggested McChrystal be "scrutinized very carefully" by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Pat's father and I both gave statements to the media reiterating that McChrystal should be properly vetted. We had real knowledge of McChrystal's questionable behavior, of actions that should perhaps have disqualified him from this position, and we felt it would be negligent not to do something. Our entreaties fell on deaf ears.
After McChrystal was forced to step down in June, I was contacted by several reporters and asked to give my thoughts about McChrystal, but I declined to comment. I hadn't read the piece in its entirety, so it seemed inappropriate to respond. Now, though, I have read and thought about the article. Obama clearly had no choice but to relieve McChrystal of his command. But how sad that the president and Congress didn't properly scrutinize the general a year ago.
People have asked, "Why is Pat so special that so much attention is given to his death"? I understand that question. Thousands of soldiers and Marines have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of their families have also been lied to, yet those deaths have not received the attention Pat's did. And Pat's death continues to be in the news.
Pat's story initially became news because he was well known for having played in the NFL. The government used his fame to create propaganda for the war. Pat is not more important or special than any of the others who have fought in these wars, but the truth of what happened to Pat — and to every soldier who has died — is important. The truth shines a light on systematic corruption, incompetence and lack of accountability in the military and in government.
Over the last five years, the Pentagon and Congress have had numerous opportunities to hold accountable those responsible for the coverup of Pat's death. Each time they've failed. The government didn't just lie to us; it lied to a nation.
Mary Tillman is the author of "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: Searching for Answers in the Death of Pat Tillman." A documentary featuring her and other family and friends will open in theaters Aug. 20.
Click here to read the entire story in the LA Times.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
August 08, 2010By Mary Tillman
Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal was forced to retire because of remarks he made to a Rolling Stone reporter. Having read the article that led to his departure, I feel strangely validated. "The Runaway General" described by journalist Michael Hastings is exactly the arrogant individual I believed him to be.
McChrystal was in charge of Joint Special Operations Command in 2004, when my son, Pat, was killed in Afghanistan. But I didn't become aware of him until March 2007. That's when someone anonymously sent an Associated Press reporter a copy of a high-priority correspondence. The memo was written on April 29, 2004, by McChrystal and sent to Gen. John P. Abizaid, Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown and Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr. Its purpose was to warn President George W. Bush and other officials to avoid making public comments about Pat's heroic death at the hands of the enemy, because it was beginning to seem "highly possible that Corporal Tillman was killed by friendly fire."
The memo went on to caution against "unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Corporal Tillman's death become public."
We knew nothing about this memo at the time it was written. In fact, we did not learn until weeks after Pat's memorial service that it was even possible he was killed by friendly fire.
The memo makes it clear there was no intention of telling the truth unless circumstances made it absolutely necessary. Much later, during Brig. Gen. Gary Jones' investigation of Pat's death, McChrystal was asked why we were kept in the dark.
"Question: Once you became aware that this was a possible fratricide, was there a conscious decision made not to tell the family of the possibility?"
"Witness: There was a conscious decision on who we told about the potential because we did not know all the facts. I did tell the senior leadership [long redaction] about the possibility prior to the memorial ceremony, because I felt they needed to know that before the ceremony. I believe that we did not tell the family of the possibility because we didn't want to give them a half-baked finding."
McChrystal says they didn't want to give us a half-baked finding. Yet that is exactly what they did. Rather than being told there were questions about Pat's death, we were presented with a contrived story, an absolute lie about how he had been killed by enemy fire.
What many people don't realize is that Pat's autopsy and field hospital report were very suspicious from the start. The autopsy gives a description of Pat's body that led us to later question if the autopsy was even his, and the field hospital report contains language that suggests he was alive when he was brought back to the field hospital at Forward Operating Base Salerno. Yet soldiers' statements indicated Pat was decapitated by the barrage of bullets, and he was deemed killed in action by the medic on the scene.
These horrifying discrepancies raised dire questions. Even the medical examiner called for a criminal investigation, but the adjutant general prevented it from going forward. By covering up the circumstances of Pat's death, McChrystal and the rest of the chain of command may have, knowingly or unknowingly, covered up a crime.
McChrystal's actions should have been grounds for firing him back then. That is why it was so disturbing to us when President Obama instead promoted McChrystal to the position of top commander in Afghanistan last year. At the time, I sent the president an e-mail and a letter reminding him of McChrystal's involvement in Pat's coverup. In the letter, I suggested McChrystal be "scrutinized very carefully" by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Pat's father and I both gave statements to the media reiterating that McChrystal should be properly vetted. We had real knowledge of McChrystal's questionable behavior, of actions that should perhaps have disqualified him from this position, and we felt it would be negligent not to do something. Our entreaties fell on deaf ears.
After McChrystal was forced to step down in June, I was contacted by several reporters and asked to give my thoughts about McChrystal, but I declined to comment. I hadn't read the piece in its entirety, so it seemed inappropriate to respond. Now, though, I have read and thought about the article. Obama clearly had no choice but to relieve McChrystal of his command. But how sad that the president and Congress didn't properly scrutinize the general a year ago.
People have asked, "Why is Pat so special that so much attention is given to his death"? I understand that question. Thousands of soldiers and Marines have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of their families have also been lied to, yet those deaths have not received the attention Pat's did. And Pat's death continues to be in the news.
Pat's story initially became news because he was well known for having played in the NFL. The government used his fame to create propaganda for the war. Pat is not more important or special than any of the others who have fought in these wars, but the truth of what happened to Pat — and to every soldier who has died — is important. The truth shines a light on systematic corruption, incompetence and lack of accountability in the military and in government.
Over the last five years, the Pentagon and Congress have had numerous opportunities to hold accountable those responsible for the coverup of Pat's death. Each time they've failed. The government didn't just lie to us; it lied to a nation.
Mary Tillman is the author of "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: Searching for Answers in the Death of Pat Tillman." A documentary featuring her and other family and friends will open in theaters Aug. 20.
Click here to read the entire story in the LA Times.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
Monday, March 08, 2010
Are Veterans Being Given Deadly Cocktails to Treat PTSD?
A potentially deadly drug manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been linked to the deaths of soldiers returning from war. Yet the FDA continues to approve it.
March 6, 2010
Sgt. Eric Layne's death was not pretty.
A few months after starting a drug regimen combining the antidepressant Paxil, the mood stabilizer Klonopin and a controversial anti-psychotic drug manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Seroquel, the Iraq war veteran was "suffering from incontinence, severe depression [and] continuous headaches," according to his widow, Janette Layne.
Read the rest of this article by clicking here.
--------------------------
Hearing on Exploring the Relationship Between Medication and Veteran Suicide.
March 6, 2010
Sgt. Eric Layne's death was not pretty.
A few months after starting a drug regimen combining the antidepressant Paxil, the mood stabilizer Klonopin and a controversial anti-psychotic drug manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Seroquel, the Iraq war veteran was "suffering from incontinence, severe depression [and] continuous headaches," according to his widow, Janette Layne.
Read the rest of this article by clicking here.
--------------------------
Hearing on Exploring the Relationship Between Medication and Veteran Suicide.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Fort Lewis soldier shot on U.S. base, say parents
Iraq: Daughter was shot in back of head, mother says
SCOTT FONTAINE; The News Tribune
Last updated: November 25th, 2009 01:59 AM (PST)
The parents of a Fort Lewis soldier killed in Iraq earlier this month say someone shot their daughter on an American military base near Kirkush.
Staff Sgt. Amy Tirador of Colonie, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in what the military called a noncombat incident. Her mother told The News Tribune on Tuesday that her 29-year-old daughter was shot execution-style, in the back of the head.
The military is investigating, a process that could take two or three months. Until then, officials are releasing few details.
“It was not a suicide,” said her mother, Colleen Murphy. “And it was not an accident. There are so many scenarios about what could have happened, and that’s why everyone is being so closed-mouthed about it.”
Tirador served as an Arabic-speaking interrogator in Diyala province with the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. A spokesman for the American military unit overseeing operations throughout northern Iraq said investigators are still determining whether Tirador’s death was accidental, a suicide or a homicide.
“Here at Task Force Marne we will do our best to keep Staff Sgt. Tirador’s family informed as the investigation progresses,” Maj. Jeff Allen wrote in an e-mail. “There are no further details we can add right now.”
A 3rd Brigade spokesperson did not respond to an e-mail requesting more information.
Murphy also has enlisted the support of the offices of Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both New York Democrats.
“They’re behind us 100 percent,” Murphy said. “We’ll find the person or persons that did this, and we’ll find out the complete truth.”
Tirador’s father, Gerard Seyboth, could not be reached by The News Tribune. But he told WRGB-TV in Albany, N.Y., that his daughter’s work as an interrogator made her a “high-profile target.”
The soldier’s grandfather delivered a strong rebuke to the alleged gunman during Tirador’s funeral Nov. 17.
“Whoever did this crime, I hope they rot in hell,” Thomas Murphy said, according to the Albany Times-Union.
Tirador enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1999 and transferred to active duty in 2001. She deployed to Turkey in 2003 and to Iraq in 2004. She returned to Iraq in August with the 3rd Brigade.
She entered the military as a combat medic but began training to be a military intelligence collector in 2005. She arrived at Fort Lewis in January 2008.
Her husband, Mickey Tirador, was in Iraq on his third tour of duty when his wife was killed. The couple were married for three years and planned to start a family next year, according to the Times-Union
Her mother told the newspaper Tirador was “a female soldier in a man’s world” who tried to defy the stereotypes of women in the armed forces.
Tirador was the sixth woman from Fort Lewis to die in either Iraq or Afghanistan since the wars began, and the first since September 2006.
Scott Fontaine: 253-320-4758
scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/military
Originally published: November 25th, 2009 12:44 AM (PST)
SCOTT FONTAINE; The News Tribune
Last updated: November 25th, 2009 01:59 AM (PST)
The parents of a Fort Lewis soldier killed in Iraq earlier this month say someone shot their daughter on an American military base near Kirkush.
Staff Sgt. Amy Tirador of Colonie, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in what the military called a noncombat incident. Her mother told The News Tribune on Tuesday that her 29-year-old daughter was shot execution-style, in the back of the head.
The military is investigating, a process that could take two or three months. Until then, officials are releasing few details.
“It was not a suicide,” said her mother, Colleen Murphy. “And it was not an accident. There are so many scenarios about what could have happened, and that’s why everyone is being so closed-mouthed about it.”
Tirador served as an Arabic-speaking interrogator in Diyala province with the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. A spokesman for the American military unit overseeing operations throughout northern Iraq said investigators are still determining whether Tirador’s death was accidental, a suicide or a homicide.
“Here at Task Force Marne we will do our best to keep Staff Sgt. Tirador’s family informed as the investigation progresses,” Maj. Jeff Allen wrote in an e-mail. “There are no further details we can add right now.”
A 3rd Brigade spokesperson did not respond to an e-mail requesting more information.
Murphy also has enlisted the support of the offices of Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both New York Democrats.
“They’re behind us 100 percent,” Murphy said. “We’ll find the person or persons that did this, and we’ll find out the complete truth.”
Tirador’s father, Gerard Seyboth, could not be reached by The News Tribune. But he told WRGB-TV in Albany, N.Y., that his daughter’s work as an interrogator made her a “high-profile target.”
The soldier’s grandfather delivered a strong rebuke to the alleged gunman during Tirador’s funeral Nov. 17.
“Whoever did this crime, I hope they rot in hell,” Thomas Murphy said, according to the Albany Times-Union.
Tirador enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1999 and transferred to active duty in 2001. She deployed to Turkey in 2003 and to Iraq in 2004. She returned to Iraq in August with the 3rd Brigade.
She entered the military as a combat medic but began training to be a military intelligence collector in 2005. She arrived at Fort Lewis in January 2008.
Her husband, Mickey Tirador, was in Iraq on his third tour of duty when his wife was killed. The couple were married for three years and planned to start a family next year, according to the Times-Union
Her mother told the newspaper Tirador was “a female soldier in a man’s world” who tried to defy the stereotypes of women in the armed forces.
Tirador was the sixth woman from Fort Lewis to die in either Iraq or Afghanistan since the wars began, and the first since September 2006.
Scott Fontaine: 253-320-4758
scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/military
Originally published: November 25th, 2009 12:44 AM (PST)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
US marine slain by fellow soldier at N Carolina base
Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:09:16 GMT
A US marine has been killed by a fellow soldier in Camp Lejeune, military investigators at the Marine base in North Carolina have found.
Private Jonathan Law, 21, "is in the custody of military authorities... for the alleged homicide of Corporal Joshua E. Hartzell, 22, early Friday morning," said Captain Timothy Patrick, base public affairs officer on Monday, reported AFP.
"The victim did not die from a gunshot wound," Patrick said. "But other than that, we don't have any other information."
Patrick said that Law was taken to a hospital for attempted suicide and was sent to the camp's jail after receiving treatment at a civilian hospital "for self-inflicted wounds."
Law, a supply administration clerk, enlisted in the Marines in August 2006 and served in Iraq between August 2007 and March 2008 and has won several awards, including the Iraqi Campaign Medal.
The victim was a maintenance technician specializing in fixing night vision equipment. He joined the Marines in September 2006 and has also won numerous awards, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
It was not immediately known whether the two soldiers knew each other before the incident.
A US marine has been killed by a fellow soldier in Camp Lejeune, military investigators at the Marine base in North Carolina have found.
Private Jonathan Law, 21, "is in the custody of military authorities... for the alleged homicide of Corporal Joshua E. Hartzell, 22, early Friday morning," said Captain Timothy Patrick, base public affairs officer on Monday, reported AFP.
"The victim did not die from a gunshot wound," Patrick said. "But other than that, we don't have any other information."
Patrick said that Law was taken to a hospital for attempted suicide and was sent to the camp's jail after receiving treatment at a civilian hospital "for self-inflicted wounds."
Law, a supply administration clerk, enlisted in the Marines in August 2006 and served in Iraq between August 2007 and March 2008 and has won several awards, including the Iraqi Campaign Medal.
The victim was a maintenance technician specializing in fixing night vision equipment. He joined the Marines in September 2006 and has also won numerous awards, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
It was not immediately known whether the two soldiers knew each other before the incident.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Dr. Baughman's Letter to the Editor
FRED A. BAUGHMAN, JR. M.D.*
NEUROLOGY AND CHILD NEUROLOGY (Board Certified)
FELLOW, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY
fredbaughmanmd@cox.net
Tim Lemmer, Editor, Letters
Wall Street Journal
To the Editor:
Re: Suicide Toll Fuels Worry That Army is Strained, by Yochi J. Dreazen, WSJ, November 3, 2009
There are frequent, sudden deaths occurring in the military due to its policy of reckless, anti-scientific, psychiatric drug, polypharmacy. I say "anti-scientific" because, in psychiatry, there are no actual physical abnormalities/diseases to make normal (e.g., insulin in diabetes, chemotherapy in cancer, antibiotics for infections)--only diabolically crafted, ‘big lie’ illusions of diseases. Although antipsychotics (Ray, et al, 2009), antidepressants (Whang, et al, 2009) and psychostimulants/amphetamines (Gould, et al, 2009).) have been proved to increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, they are routinely prescribed together, as if no such risk was known.
While Surgeon General of the Army Eric B. Schoomaker acknowledged a "series, a sequence" of deaths, in a February 7, 2008, Chicago Tribune interview, there has been no explanation of these deaths--only continued references to "suicides" and "accidental drug overdoses" --always adding that illegal drugs and substances were also involved.
Stan White (father of deceased veteran Andrew White) and I have "Googled" over a hundred such military deaths. Young men in their twenties do not suddenly die for no reason at all, to be "found" "in their barracks," “at their workstations," or “in their beds," but never, beforehand, seen semi-comatose, comatose, and never resuscitated, never making it to a hospital or ICU, and never surviving--all of which are common with the more usual central nervous system depressant drug overdose. In Atypical antyipsychotic drugs and the risk of Sudden Cardiac Death, Ray et al, NEJM 2009;360:225-35, wrote: “The study end point was SCD (sudden cardiac death) occurring in the community. SCD was defined as a sudden pulseless condition that was fatal, that was consistent with a ventricular tachyarrhythmia, and that occurred in the absence of a known noncardiac condition as the proximate cause of death. The end point excluded deaths of patients who had been admitted to the hospital, deaths that were not sudden, and deaths for which there was evidence of an extrinsic cause (e.g., drug overdose), a non-cardiac cause (e.g., pneumonia), or a cardiac cause that was not consistent with a ventricular tachyarrhythmia (e.g., heart failure).”
It is time for the truth about these deaths from the Surgeon General of the Army and from the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees.
It is time for an end to the for-profit, anti-scientific, psychiatric drugging, not just of the US military, but of the US public-at-large—the greatest health care fraud in history. Either the House, the Senate and White House find the will to say "no" to Big Pharma or we will all become, drugged, dependent, zombies.
-- re-printed with the permission of the author
NEUROLOGY AND CHILD NEUROLOGY (Board Certified)
FELLOW, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY
fredbaughmanmd@cox.net
Tim Lemmer, Editor, Letters
Wall Street Journal
To the Editor:
Re: Suicide Toll Fuels Worry That Army is Strained, by Yochi J. Dreazen, WSJ, November 3, 2009
There are frequent, sudden deaths occurring in the military due to its policy of reckless, anti-scientific, psychiatric drug, polypharmacy. I say "anti-scientific" because, in psychiatry, there are no actual physical abnormalities/diseases to make normal (e.g., insulin in diabetes, chemotherapy in cancer, antibiotics for infections)--only diabolically crafted, ‘big lie’ illusions of diseases. Although antipsychotics (Ray, et al, 2009), antidepressants (Whang, et al, 2009) and psychostimulants/amphetamines (Gould, et al, 2009).) have been proved to increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, they are routinely prescribed together, as if no such risk was known.
While Surgeon General of the Army Eric B. Schoomaker acknowledged a "series, a sequence" of deaths, in a February 7, 2008, Chicago Tribune interview, there has been no explanation of these deaths--only continued references to "suicides" and "accidental drug overdoses" --always adding that illegal drugs and substances were also involved.
Stan White (father of deceased veteran Andrew White) and I have "Googled" over a hundred such military deaths. Young men in their twenties do not suddenly die for no reason at all, to be "found" "in their barracks," “at their workstations," or “in their beds," but never, beforehand, seen semi-comatose, comatose, and never resuscitated, never making it to a hospital or ICU, and never surviving--all of which are common with the more usual central nervous system depressant drug overdose. In Atypical antyipsychotic drugs and the risk of Sudden Cardiac Death, Ray et al, NEJM 2009;360:225-35, wrote: “The study end point was SCD (sudden cardiac death) occurring in the community. SCD was defined as a sudden pulseless condition that was fatal, that was consistent with a ventricular tachyarrhythmia, and that occurred in the absence of a known noncardiac condition as the proximate cause of death. The end point excluded deaths of patients who had been admitted to the hospital, deaths that were not sudden, and deaths for which there was evidence of an extrinsic cause (e.g., drug overdose), a non-cardiac cause (e.g., pneumonia), or a cardiac cause that was not consistent with a ventricular tachyarrhythmia (e.g., heart failure).”
It is time for the truth about these deaths from the Surgeon General of the Army and from the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees.
It is time for an end to the for-profit, anti-scientific, psychiatric drugging, not just of the US military, but of the US public-at-large—the greatest health care fraud in history. Either the House, the Senate and White House find the will to say "no" to Big Pharma or we will all become, drugged, dependent, zombies.
-- re-printed with the permission of the author
Friday, October 30, 2009
Mother Assesses 'Beasting' Review
From BBC News:
The mother of a soldier who died after an army punishment is considering a judicial review to overturn a decision not to court-martial those involved.
Private Gavin Williams, 22, Hengoed, Caerphilly, collapsed and died at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth in 2006.
His mother Debra said she was still waiting to hear whether the Army would take any measures over her son's death.
The Ministry of Justice said it could not comment until the outcome of any disciplinary action.
Pte Williams died after being made to carry out an informal punishment known as beasting for misbehaviour, and was put through an intense session of physical exercise on one of the hottest days of the year.
A trial was held where three soldiers were cleared of manslaughter. A subsequent inquiry has also decided that three other soldiers would not face a court-martial.
Sgt Russell Price, 45, Sgt Paul Blake, 37, and Cpl John Edwards, 42, were found not guilty of manslaughter by a jury at Winchester Crown Court last year.
After the acquittal, trial judge Mr Justice Royce attacked the Army for allowing beasting to take place.
He also criticised the fact that the three non-commissioned officers were placed in the dock while their commander, the adjutant Captain Mark Davis, who said he wanted Pte Williams brought to him "hot and sweaty", was in the process of being promoted to the rank of major.
Following the trial, the Royal Military Police carried out its own investigation and sent its findings to the Independent Services Prosecuting Authority, which announced this week three different soldiers would not face a court martial over Pte Williams' death.
The three could still face administrative action against them.
Ms Williams said: "It's just frustrating because sometimes you just hit a brick wall and you feel like you're not getting anywhere.
"I think in time something has got to happen and something has got to come of this because they know damn well what took place did take place and someone has got to be blamed."
Ms Williams now has to decide what to do.
She can wait and see if the Army takes any action, or she can challenge the decision not to hold a court martial in the High Court.
However it could take several years for the case to be heard and would also hold up an inquest and board of inquiry into her son's death.
If she lost the challenge, Mrs Williams could face legal bills of £25,000.
"Money shouldn't be an issue but it's a lot of money we're talking about.
"Time for me is nothing. I could manage another two years, three years, four years, it doesn't matter to me.
"I don't think I'll ever give it up because it's something which shouldn't have happened in the first place."
Ms Williams has set up a website, Stop Beastings in the Army (stopbeastingsinthearmy.com), and says soldiers have contacted her to say a form of beasting still exists in the Army.
On Friday she will meet other families who have lost relatives in non-combat situations to raise awareness of what has happened.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2009/10/29 07:19:58 GMT
The mother of a soldier who died after an army punishment is considering a judicial review to overturn a decision not to court-martial those involved.
Private Gavin Williams, 22, Hengoed, Caerphilly, collapsed and died at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth in 2006.
His mother Debra said she was still waiting to hear whether the Army would take any measures over her son's death.
The Ministry of Justice said it could not comment until the outcome of any disciplinary action.
Pte Williams died after being made to carry out an informal punishment known as beasting for misbehaviour, and was put through an intense session of physical exercise on one of the hottest days of the year.
A trial was held where three soldiers were cleared of manslaughter. A subsequent inquiry has also decided that three other soldiers would not face a court-martial.
Sgt Russell Price, 45, Sgt Paul Blake, 37, and Cpl John Edwards, 42, were found not guilty of manslaughter by a jury at Winchester Crown Court last year.
After the acquittal, trial judge Mr Justice Royce attacked the Army for allowing beasting to take place.
He also criticised the fact that the three non-commissioned officers were placed in the dock while their commander, the adjutant Captain Mark Davis, who said he wanted Pte Williams brought to him "hot and sweaty", was in the process of being promoted to the rank of major.
Following the trial, the Royal Military Police carried out its own investigation and sent its findings to the Independent Services Prosecuting Authority, which announced this week three different soldiers would not face a court martial over Pte Williams' death.
The three could still face administrative action against them.
Ms Williams said: "It's just frustrating because sometimes you just hit a brick wall and you feel like you're not getting anywhere.
"I think in time something has got to happen and something has got to come of this because they know damn well what took place did take place and someone has got to be blamed."
Ms Williams now has to decide what to do.
She can wait and see if the Army takes any action, or she can challenge the decision not to hold a court martial in the High Court.
However it could take several years for the case to be heard and would also hold up an inquest and board of inquiry into her son's death.
If she lost the challenge, Mrs Williams could face legal bills of £25,000.
"Money shouldn't be an issue but it's a lot of money we're talking about.
"Time for me is nothing. I could manage another two years, three years, four years, it doesn't matter to me.
"I don't think I'll ever give it up because it's something which shouldn't have happened in the first place."
Ms Williams has set up a website, Stop Beastings in the Army (stopbeastingsinthearmy.com), and says soldiers have contacted her to say a form of beasting still exists in the Army.
On Friday she will meet other families who have lost relatives in non-combat situations to raise awareness of what has happened.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2009/10/29 07:19:58 GMT
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Fort Bliss soldiers charged with cruelty
EL PASO -- A Fort Bliss soldier who died in Iraq earlier this month was physically and verbally abused by soldiers now formally charged with cruelty.
Read the entire story by clicking here.
Read the entire story by clicking here.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Repeal the Feres Doctrine
Cindy Wilson was a 37 year old technical sergeant stationed at Langley Air Force Base. On February 20, 2007, she was to give birth to her first child. Sergeant Wilson was excited that her parents were making the trip from Georgia to experience the birth of their grandson. On that same day, Dr. Michael Carozza, the lead obstetrician on staff at Langley, had not even been issued his Virginia medical license. He was 31 years of age and had just completed his residency a few months before.
Just before midnight on Feb. 20, 2007, Sergeant Wilson gave birth by cesarean section to a healthy boy. But she never got to hold her baby. According to her medical records, a uterine artery was cut during the delivery, causing massive internal bleeding. The estimated blood loss was equivalent to the total blood volume of an average adult. Then, during frantic efforts to repair the damage, two surgical sponges were left in Wilson’s abdomen. Wilson's parents went to her Smithfield home to get some sleep. Around 4 a.m., her husband called. Wilson was going back to the operating room for emergency surgery caused by the sponges left in her body. When her parents got back to the hospital, “her room looked like a tornado had hit it,” Connie Wilson said. A piece of medical equipment was overturned and a needle lay on the floor.
Twelve hours after giving birth, she was dead. Dr. Carozza's Virginia medical license was issued on Feb. 21, 2007 – the day Cindy Wilson died. Carozza is still on the obstetrics staff at Langley.
In the following months, Sergeant Wilson's devastated parents got a second shock when they learned that they had no recourse – even for what seemed to them an egregious case of medical malpractice – because of a legal precedent known as the Feres Doctrine , which bars military members from recovery for personal injury or death "incurred incident to miltary service or duty." "Incident to service" means any and all activities, not just work-related military duties, to which the service member is exposed due to her military service- including use of base recreational facilities and receipt of health care services.
Read the entire story by clicking here.
Just before midnight on Feb. 20, 2007, Sergeant Wilson gave birth by cesarean section to a healthy boy. But she never got to hold her baby. According to her medical records, a uterine artery was cut during the delivery, causing massive internal bleeding. The estimated blood loss was equivalent to the total blood volume of an average adult. Then, during frantic efforts to repair the damage, two surgical sponges were left in Wilson’s abdomen. Wilson's parents went to her Smithfield home to get some sleep. Around 4 a.m., her husband called. Wilson was going back to the operating room for emergency surgery caused by the sponges left in her body. When her parents got back to the hospital, “her room looked like a tornado had hit it,” Connie Wilson said. A piece of medical equipment was overturned and a needle lay on the floor.
Twelve hours after giving birth, she was dead. Dr. Carozza's Virginia medical license was issued on Feb. 21, 2007 – the day Cindy Wilson died. Carozza is still on the obstetrics staff at Langley.
In the following months, Sergeant Wilson's devastated parents got a second shock when they learned that they had no recourse – even for what seemed to them an egregious case of medical malpractice – because of a legal precedent known as the Feres Doctrine , which bars military members from recovery for personal injury or death "incurred incident to miltary service or duty." "Incident to service" means any and all activities, not just work-related military duties, to which the service member is exposed due to her military service- including use of base recreational facilities and receipt of health care services.
Read the entire story by clicking here.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Family of Iraq vet gets settlement after his suicide
U.S. loses wrongful death suit
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and StripesMideast edition, Friday, January 16, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — Marine Reserve Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey hanged himself on June 22, 2004, about three weeks after being released as an inpatient from the Northampton Veterans Medical Center in Leeds, Mass.
His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming the VA initially refused to treat him for post-traumatic stress disorder because they required him to be sober first.
Now they will receive $350,000 under a settlement with the U.S. government that was announced Thursday by Military Families Speak Out, an anti-war group to which they both belong.
Read the rest of the story here.
There is also an article in the Boston Globe.
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and StripesMideast edition, Friday, January 16, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — Marine Reserve Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey hanged himself on June 22, 2004, about three weeks after being released as an inpatient from the Northampton Veterans Medical Center in Leeds, Mass.
His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming the VA initially refused to treat him for post-traumatic stress disorder because they required him to be sober first.
Now they will receive $350,000 under a settlement with the U.S. government that was announced Thursday by Military Families Speak Out, an anti-war group to which they both belong.
Read the rest of the story here.
There is also an article in the Boston Globe.
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