Alaska-based soldier found guilty in fellow GI's shooting death

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — An Alaska-based soldier from South Carolina will serve nearly 12 years in a military prison and be dishonorably discharged after shooting a fellow soldier in the face on Christmas morning, killing him, a military judge determined Thursday.

Spec. Marshall D. Drake Jr., of Mount Pleasant, S.C., was sentenced by Maj. Stefan Wolfe on Thursday to 11 years, 9 months after being convicted in a general court-martial of involuntary manslaughter.

The 23-year-old Drake was accused of shooting Pfc. Grant W. Wise, of Fairport, N.Y., in Drake's barracks room on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, The Anchorage Daily News reported.

Read the entire story here.

Navy Charges 2 in Deaths of 2 Divers at Md. Pond

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Two members of a Virginia-based Navy dive unit face military criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter and dereliction of duty in the February drowning deaths of two divers at an Army facility test pond near Baltimore, officials said Wednesday.

Navy officials said the two defendants, whom they haven't identified, are a chief warrant officer 3 and a senior chief petty officer in Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2. The sailors had a supervisory role in the events at the pond, according to Navy officials in Washington who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation.

They also belonged to the same unit as the victims, Diver 1st Class James Reyher, 28, of Caldwell, Ohio, and Diver 2nd Class Ryan Harris, 23, of Gladstone, Mo., said Lt. Cdr. Charity Hardison of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command in Virginia Beach, Va.

Read the entire story here.

Head of Marine Corps Officer Candidates School relieved of command

WASHINGTON — The commander of the Marine Corps’ Officer Candidates School has been relieved in the wake of the murder-suicide there that left three Marines dead.

Commandant Gen. James Amos told the Marine Corps Times that he lost confidence in Col. Kris J. Stillings’ ability to command the school after the shootings last month.

Read the entire story here.

New civil trial ordered in Army training death

HONOLULU — A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial in a lawsuit filed by the family of a Texas soldier who was killed and others who were injured during a live-fire training exercise in Hawaii.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling overturned a jury verdict that found the manufacturer of mortar cartridges not liable for causing the 2006 explosion that killed Staff Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez.

The 27-year-old from Beeville, Texas, was hit by shrapnel at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. He was supervising the firing of two mortars when a shell detonated in the cannon. The blast seriously injured Samuel Oyola-Perez, Julius Riggins and Wilfredo Dayandante.

Read the entire story here.

Death Memorial

PFC Robert A. Guy

 

My son, PFC Robert A. Guy, a Marine, died on April 21st, 2005. He allegedly committed suicide. Which I was told two months later on the phone. He was put on Zoloft by a base doctor with no supervision. He and two other Marines were requested to guard an Iraqi detainee, he allegedly pointed his rifle at the detainees head, racked the bolt and sent the bolt home. It is a matter of record that his rifle was empty.

 

He denied these allegations and stated he was guilty of improper clearing procedures. So of course, he was involved in an NJP. The most he could get out of this was…1) Lose 1/2 months pay for two months. 2) Bust him down a rank, from PFC to Private. 3) Give him 45 days extra duty (which would have been suspended, due to time served in Iraq).

 

The day of the NJP hearing (April 21st, 2005) the Company Commander felt he wasn’t qualified to dole out punishment and passed it up the chain of command to the Battalion Commander. A 1st Sgt. allegedly told him (when he signed the paper stating he understood what had taken place), “Boy, you just signed your ass away. You’re getting a dishonorable and spending thirty years in Leavenworth.”

Later that evening he asked to see the Chaplain. He was told there was not a Chaplain on base, in order for him to speak to him they would have to get a convoy together. He was asked if it could wait until the morning. Knowing my son… not wanting to inconvience anyone and feeling he had no choice, he said “I guess so”.

 

Well, apparently it couldn’t. A very short time later he went into a port-a-john and blew his brains out.

 

Immediately all the Sgt’s were called together and told ‘to tell their men what had happened and to tell them there was a Chaplain available if anyone needed to speak to him’.

 

I received the ‘Field Investigation Report’ that was so full of discrepancies. It had been almost 2 years before I received the ‘Command Investigation Report’. I’ve waited so long for this report, hoping it would give me some answers. When it came, the answers were not there. It was more questions and more confusion than before. I want to get an attorney, but do not know what kind of attorney I need and where to find one. I have called everyone I can think of and all I get is a run-around. I have written a letter to the President of the United States, contacted my local Congressman, contacted both my State Senators and had my son’s story put in the newspaper. I have called numerous people affiliated with the Marine Corps and NCIS and all I get is lies, promises and people who apparently get paid to due nothing but say, “I’ll check into that and get back to you”.

 

My son died in Iraq, he was not killed by Iraqis, he was killed by the United States Marine Corps. I hold them responsible completely. In my yard about 18 feet high flies an American flag and a Marine Corps flag. Bobby was so proud to be a Marine, he was going to make it his life’s choice. He wasn’t in there just for his four years.

So many times I’ve wanted to set fire to the Marine Corps flag, but as I told the newspaper people, “It flies for Bobby and the guys who went before him and the ones who will go after him, it damn sure don’t fly for the Corps.”

 

I am still very angry and my heart breaks anew every day. He was my son long before he was a Marine. I need someone to help me. Tell me where to turn and who to talk to. I will never give up, someone needs to be held accountable for his death. All I’ve asked for from the beginning is the truth and I can’t even get that.

Thank you for your time and any assistance you may be able to provide.

 

Warmest regards,

Ann R. Guy

Army Releases March 2013 Suicide Information

The Army released suicide data today for the month of March 2013. During March, among active-duty soldiers, there were 10 potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and seven remain under investigation. For February 2013, the Army reported 11 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; four have been confirmed as suicides and seven are under investigation. For 2013, there have been 41 potential active-duty suicides: 15 have been confirmed as suicides and 26 remain under investigation. Updated active-duty suicide numbers for 2012: 184 (158 have been confirmed as suicides and 26 remain under investigation). During March 2013, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 12 potential suicides (eight Army National Guard and four Army Reserve): none have been confirmed as suicides and 12 remain under investigation. For February 2013, among that same group, the Army reported 14 potential suicides (eight Army National Guard and six Army Reserve); six have been confirmed as suicides and eight cases remain under investigation. For 2013, there have been 40 potential not on active duty suicides (22 Army National Guard and 18 Army Reserve): 19 have been confirmed as suicides and 21 remain under investigation. Updated not on active duty suicide numbers for 2012: 140 (93 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve); 138 have been confirmed as suicides and two remain under investigation. 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.pdf and 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.comor 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.organd 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. Source:  DOD Announcement, verbatim

Death Memorial

Col. Philip Michael Shue

Died April 16, 2003

As Navy rape case unravels, questions of homicide appear

Pineda, a seaman from Barstow, Calif., training as a Navy SEAL, spent three months in jail for sexual assault. Antonacci, a 22-year-old ordnance disposal trainee from Long Island, N.Y., was threatened with prosecution. The case didn’t go far: Antonacci’s body was found hanging in a closet, his nose bleeding, his face and back bruised.

Read the entire story here.

Army Releases February 2013 Suicide Information

 

The Army released suicide data today for the month of February 2013. During February, among active-duty soldiers, there were 11 potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and eight remain under investigation. For January 2013, the Army reported 19 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; however, subsequent to the report, another case was added bringing January's total to 20: seven have been confirmed as suicides and 13 are under investigation. For CY 2013, there have been 31 potential active-duty suicides: 10 have been confirmed as suicides and 21 remain under investigation. Updated active-duty suicide numbers for CY 2012: 183 (156 have been confirmed as suicides and 27 remain under investigation).

During February, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 13 potential suicides (eight Army National Guard and five Army Reserve): four have been confirmed and nine are still under investigation. For January 2013, among that same group, the Army reported 14 potential suicides; nine have been confirmed and five cases remain under investigation. For CY 2013, there have been 27 potential not on active duty suicides (14 Army National Guard and 13 Army Reserve): 13 have been confirmed as suicides and 14 remain under investigation. Updated not on active duty suicide numbers for CY 2012: 140 (93 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve); 136 have been confirmed as suicides and four remain under investigation.

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.pdf and 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 .

Source:  DOD Announcement, verbatim

Air Force commander grapples with servicemember’s suicide

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — While most people hunkered down for the night as a typhoon pounded the Tokyo area, an American airman plunged to his death from the 11th floor of a nearby hotel. Before dawn, Yokota base commander Col. Mark August received one of those calls that almost always bring a different kind of turmoil.

August learned he had lost a man — the first since he rose to command level 15 years earlier.

 

“When you get that phone call first thing in the morning — no one wants to get it, but when it happens, it triggers a very specific response, an AFI-driven response,” August told Stars and Stripes a few weeks after the death last fall.

Read the entire article here.

Marines killed in training were young, lives ahead

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- They're called "leathernecks" or "Devil Dogs," but some of the Marines killed in a desert training accident this week were just a year or so out of high school, their boyish faces not yet weathered by life's hardships

Read the entire article here.

Nevada town mourns Marines who died in explosion

HAWTHORNE, Nev. -- Hundreds of residents in a rural community steeped in military history turned out to mourn the loss of at least seven Marines as investigators arrived at an ammunition depot to try to determine how a mortar shell exploded at the Nevada base and sent shrapnel flying into troops during a training exercise.

Read the entire article here.

Families of Soldiers Call for Investigation into Deaths After Military Hazing

Submitted by Richard Stites

Vet saved many in Iraq, couldn’t escape demons

Capt. Peter Linnerooth was an Army psychologist. He counseled soldiers during some of the fiercest fighting in Iraq. Hundreds upon hundreds sought his help. For nightmares and insomnia. For shock and grief. And for reaching that point where they just wanted to end it all.


Read the entire story here.

Mum: Army hiding truth into soldier's death

The grieving mother of a dead Kiwi soldier asked for the return of his clothes but was told they were burned as the items were considered "bio-toxic".

An Army investigator also told Venus Poa she may never know the truth about the death of her son in Afghanistan last year.

She replied: "We are Ngapuhi - we will get to the truth, however long it takes."

Read the entire story here.

More Texas Guard GIs Die From Suicide Than Combat

Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, roughly twice as many Texas Army National Guard soldiers have died of suicide as in combat, an American-Statesman investigation has found.

Records on the Guard soldiers' cause of death also identified vehicle crashes as their top killer, claiming the lives of 54 since 2001, or 32 percent of all fatalities among Texas National Guard soldiers . Four Texas National Guard soldiers died of drug overdoses over that time.

The cause-of-death data, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, includes soldiers who didn't deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as those who did, and it paints the most complete picture yet of how Texas National Guard soldiers have died during a decade of war.

According to numbers provided by Texas Military Forces, 27 Texas National Guard soldiers died of suicide since 2001, while 12 were killed in action or died of their war wounds. An additional five National Guard soldiers died in overseas helicopter crashes that officials classified as nonhostile accidents.

The suicide numbers have climbed since the cause-of-death figures were released late last year; the Texas Army National Guard now counts 30 suicides since 2001, with most occurring in the last five years

Read the entire story here.

General foresees end to grim rise in Army suicides

WASHINGTON - Army suicides are still increasing, but the four-star general who has been at the forefront of seeking solutions, Lloyd J. Austin III, says he thinks a turnaround is in sight.

"The trends are not going in the direction that we want them to go - they haven't been for some time," Austin told The Associated Press in his last interview as the Army's vice chief of staff. He nonetheless spoke optimistically of "doing the right things to begin to turn this around," despite the suicide rate worsening during his 13-month watch.

Read the entire story here.

Death Memorial

Glenn Wilsey, March 3, 2011

His page.

Wait for court-martial in fratricide case frustrates victim’s family

WASHINGTON — It’s been almost four years since the deadliest case of American fratricide in the Iraq War, and the Army sergeant accused of killing five of his fellow servicemembers has yet to face a court-martial.

The lengthy delay has one victim’s family questioning what, exactly, is keeping the Army from moving faster on the case.

 

“It’s just not justified. There’s really no good reason,” Tom Springle said. “We’ve waited long enough.”

 

His brother, Navy Cmdr. Charles Keith Springle, was among those killed in May 2009 at Camp Liberty in Baghdad when Sgt. John Russell allegedly opened fire on the combat

Read the entire story here.

How to honor non-combat military deaths?

WASHINGTON -- Jack Fletcher doesn’t have an objection to the new Distinguished Warfare Medal. He just thinks that his son, a soldier who died in the line of duty, deserves an award as well.

“There are a lot of troops and families who fall through the cracks,” he said. “It’s baffling to me that everyone who loses their life serving honorably in the military isn’t somehow honored.”

 

Fletcher’s son, Lt. Robert “Bart” Fletcher, was shot and killed by a fellow soldier during a confrontation over missing weapons at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2008. Because the attack was not combat-related, he was not eligible for the Purple Heart.

Read the entire story here.