Almost 1,000 members of Armed Forces require psychiatric treatment after being given anti-Malaria drug linked to mental health problems
Daily Mail
By COREY CHARLTON FOR MAILONLINE
15 April 2015
Almost 1,000 personnel required psychiatric treatment after taking drug
They were prescribed anti-malarial drug Lariam by the Ministry of Defence
The discredited product's side effects include psychosis and hallucinations
Retired Major General Alastair Duncan is currently in a psychiatric unit
He was prescribed the drug prior to a deployment in Sierra Leone
A retired major general is among 1,000 British service personnel requiring psychiatric treatment after taking an anti-malarial drug issued by the Ministry of Defence.
New figures released by the MoD show that since 2008, 994 personnel have been treated for mental health issues after having been prescribed Lariam.
Despite Lariam - the brand name for the drug mefloquine - being banned by the U.S. military due to concerns over side effects, the MoD has ignored appeals to stop prescribing it in what critics say is an escalating 'scandal'.
Major-General Alastair Duncan (pictured) is currently in a psychiatric unit after having been given the drug prior to a deployment in Sierra Leone
According to The Independent's Jonathan Owen, retired Major General Alastair Duncan is currently in a psychiatric unit following a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder episode four months ago.
Maj-Gen Duncan was given the drug Lariam before a deployment to Sierra Leone.
April 27, 2004 DoD, VA to study malaria drug’s side effects Associated Press
The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs will study the side effects of Lariam, a drug given to servicemen to prevent malaria, Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said.
The use of Lariam came up in investigations of murders and murder-suicides involving Fort Bragg soldiers in the summer of 2002, when four soldiers were accused of killing their wives. Two of those soldiers committed suicide immediately and a third killed himself in jail.
The three soldiers who killed themselves had served in Afghanistan, where Lariam is routinely used by U.S. troops. The fourth, who is still awaiting trial, did not serve there.
A November 2002 report by the office of the Army Surgeon General said two of the four soldiers had taken Lariam, but the Army would not say which. The report said Lariam probably did not factor in the killings.
Turner said a subcommittee of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board met two weeks ago to consider ways to study the use of Lariam among service members. A Veterans Affairs spokeswoman said the VA will review the issue but has not issued a report on the study.
Lariam, which is also known as mefloquine, is routinely prescribed to soldiers working in countries where malaria is a problem. Some people have blamed it for causing psychotic reactions, including depression, hallucinations and thoughts of suicide.
Doctor: Anti-malarial drug may be harmful
Army Times
In the past six weeks, Dr. Michael Hoffer has treated nine service members who returned from Iraq or Afghanistan unable to walk a straight line or stand still without staggering. Some said objects appeared to spin around them for more than an hour at a time.
A Navy commander and director of the Department of Defense Spatial Orientation Center at Naval Medical Center, San Diego, Hoffer believes the problems are linked to a drug called Lariam "known generically as mefloquine" that the military gives to troops to prevent malaria.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has urged the Pentagon to set a timeline for a Defense Department study, announced in March, of negative effects from Lariam and other anti-malarial drugs.
This is a reposting to go with the Ambien post. We need to consider all of these as well.
Suspected Lariam links
April 27, 2004DoD, VA to study malaria drug’s side effectsAssociated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.
The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs will study the side effects of Lariam, a drug given to servicemen to prevent malaria, Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said.
The use of Lariam came up in investigations of murders and murder-suicides involving Fort Bragg soldiers in the summer of 2002, when four soldiers were accused of killing their wives. Two of those soldiers committed suicide immediately and a third killed himself in jail.
The three soldiers who killed themselves had served in Afghanistan, where Lariam is routinely used by U.S. troops. The fourth, who is still awaiting trial, did not serve there.
A November 2002 report by the office of the Army Surgeon General said two of the four soldiers had taken Lariam, but the Army would not say which. The report said Lariam probably did not factor in the killings.
Turner said a subcommittee of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board met two weeks ago to consider ways to study the use of Lariam among service members. A Veterans Affairs spokeswoman said the VA will review the issue but has not issued a report on the study.
Lariam, which is also known as mefloquine, is routinely prescribed to soldiers working in countries where malaria is a problem. Some people have blamed it for causing psychotic reactions, including depression, hallucinations and thoughts of suicide. http://www.armytimes.com/legacy/new/1-292925-2862062.php
Doctor: Anti-malarial drug may be harmful
In the past six weeks, Dr. Michael Hoffer has treated nine service members who returned from Iraq or Afghanistan unable to walk a straight line or stand still without staggering. Some said objects appeared to spin around them for more than an hour at a time.
A Navy commander and director of the Department of Defense Spatial Orientation Center at Naval Medical Center, San Diego, Hoffer believes the problems are linked to a drug called Lariam "known generically as mefloquine" that the military gives to troops to prevent malaria.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has urged the Pentagon to set a timeline for a Defense Department study, announced in March, of negative effects from Lariam and other anti-malarial drugs. http://www.armytimes.com/legacy/new/0-ARMYPAPER-2980109.php
Suspected Seroquel
According to the AP, Private First Class Steven Green told military
psychiatrists he was angry about the war, desperate to avenge the death of
comrades and driven to kill Iraqi citizens. The AP reports medical records show Pentagon doctors prescribed Green several small doses of Seroquel– a drug to regulate his mood – and directed him to get some sleep. One month after the examination, Green reportedly again told his battalion commander that he hated all Iraqis. He also allegedly threw a puppy from the roof of a building and then set the animal on fire while on patrol. But through it all, he was kept on duty manning a checkpoint in one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq. Through it all, the U.S. military kept him in combat http://www.antiwar.com/glantz/?articleid=10313
Taking SEROQUEL
A bipolar disorder treatment, SEROQUEL for the treatment of depressive episodes and acute manic episodes in bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder
What is Seroquel?
Seroquel is an antipsychotic medication. It works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain.
Seroquel is used to treat the symptoms of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression).
Seroquel may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide
Important information about Seroquel
Seroquel is not for use in psychotic conditions that are related to dementia. Seroquel has caused fatal pneumonia or heart failure in older adults with dementia-related conditions.
Stop using Seroquel and call your doctor at once if you have the following symptoms: fever, stiff muscles, confusion, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, uncontrolled muscle movements, symptoms that come on suddenly such as numbness or weakness, severe headache, and problems with vision, speech, or balance.
You may have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits for at least the first 12 weeks of treatment.
Call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself. If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to use Seroquel, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special tests during treatment.
Seroquel may cause you to have high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). Talk to your doctor if you have any signs of hyperglycemia such as increased thirst or urination, excessive hunger, or weakness. If you are diabetic, check your blood sugar levels on a regular basis while you are taking Seroquel.
You may have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Tell your doctor if you have worsening symptoms of depression or suicidal thoughts during the first several weeks of treatment, or whenever your dose is changed. http://www.drugs.com/seroquel.html
Pfc. Robert A. Guy 26 Company I, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Willards, Maryland Died due to a non-hostile incident near Karma, Iraq, on April 21, 2005 "Any little thing they do is a help," said Ann Guy of Willards, Md., whose son, Marine Pfc. Robert A. Guy, killed himself in Iraq on April 21, 2005 - a month after he was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft with no monitoring.http://www.optruth.org/index.php/images/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=2232&Itemid=116
Melissa Hobart, the East Haven native who collapsed and died in June 2004, had enlisted in the Army in early 2003 after attending nursing school, and initially was told she would be stationed in Alaska, her mother, Connie Hobart, said. When her orders were changed to Iraq, Melissa, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, fell into a depression and sought help at Fort Hood, Texas, according to her mother. "Just before she got deployed, she said she was getting really depressed, so I told her to go talk to somebody," Connie Hobart recalled. "She said they put her on an antidepressant." Melissa, a medic, accepted her obligation to serve, even as her mother urged her to "go AWOL" and come home to Ladson, S.C., where the family had moved. But three months into her tour in Baghdad - and a week before she died - she told Connie she was feeling lost. "She wanted out of there. She said everybody's morale was low," Connie recalled. "She said the people over there would throw rocks at them, that they didn't want them there. It was making her sad." Around the same time, Melissa fainted and fell in her room, she told Connie in an e-mail. She said she had been checked out by a military doctor. The next week, while serving on guard duty in Baghdad, Melissa collapsed and died of what the Army has labeled "natural" causes. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as "undetermined."
Sgt. 1st Class Mark C. Warren 44 Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Armor Cavalry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard La Grande, Oregon Died of non-combat related injuries at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, on January 31, 2005 suicide When Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark C. Warren was diagnosed with depression soon after his deployment to Iraq, a military doctor handed him a supply of the mood-altering drug Effexor.
All three were given antidepressants to help them make it through their tours of duty in Iraq - and all came home in coffins.Warren,44, and Guy, 26, committed suicide last year, according to the military; Hobart, 22, collapsed in June 2004, of a still-undetermined cause.The three are among a growing number of mentally troubled service members who are being kept in combat and treated with potent psychotropic medications - a little-examined practice driven in part by a need to maintain troop strength.Interviews with troops, families and medical experts, as well as autopsy and investigative reports obtained by The Courant, reveal that the emphasis on retention has had dangerous, and sometimes tragic, consequences
On Aug. 7, Robert Ziarnick, 25, was accused of shooting at Greenwood Village police and carjacking a 2005 Acura before fleeing to Cherry Creek State Park. Seven months earlier, Ziarnick used a knife to cut the words "kill me" into his abdomen. His wife told police he had served in Iraq and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. http://www.democraticwarrior.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2798
VA Warns Doctors About Lariam United Press International 25 June 2004 WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning doctors to watch for long-term mental problems and other health effects from an anti-malaria drug given to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.The drug is mefloquine, known by the brand name Lariam, which has been given to tens of thousands of soldiers since the war on terrorism began. Some of those soldiers say it has provoked severe mental and physical problems including suicidal and violent behavior, psychosis, convulsions and balance disorders.
Last year the Food and Drug Administration began warning that problems might last "long after" someone stops taking it.
The VA warned its own doctors Wednesday that the drug "may rarely be associated with certain long-term chronic health problems that persist for weeks, months, and even years after the drug is stopped," according to a summary of published studies by a VA panel of experts. The summary accompanies an "information letter" from the VA's acting undersecretary for health, Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, to healthcare professionals who treat veterans.Veterans' advocates praised the VA but said the Pentagon seems to have lost track of who has taken the drug -- making the size of a potentially serious problem unclear.While little mefloquine was used in the first Gulf War, advocates said a similar dearth of medical data has thwarted efforts to get to the bottom of Gulf War Syndrome for a decade. Investigators simply did not know what drugs or vaccines -- possible contributors to that syndrome -- were given to solders.
"We are pleased that the VA is taking a proactive approach to this situation," said Steve Smithson, assistant director of the American Legion's National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission."It is no secret that the military did not do a good job of record keeping in the first Gulf War," said Smithson. "Early reports on Lariam make me concerned that we did not learn the lessons from the first Gulf War in that it is not being documented in health records."
But last Christmas, only months after the initial wave of killings, Fort Bragg was again the scene of tragedy when another service member, Sgt. Marvin Lee Branch, allegedly tried to murder his wife. How the situation was handled is indicative of the larger problem. Restraining orders protecting Carol Branch were dismissed within weeks of the attack, and she complained of receiving very little support: "I'm trying to save my life and I've got to beg (the Army) for help? I can see how those other mothers died. They were trapped." Branch said her husband had a history of abusive behavior, but he became uncontrollably violent upon returning from duty in Afghanistan. An Army spokesman confirmed that soldiers in Sgt. Branch's unit had taken Lariam, but would not confirm whether Branch had as well. http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles/Wokusch_War-DomesticViolence.htm
Anthony Mertz
Anti-malaria drug cited in Illinois murder By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk Published 2/21/2003 3:33 PM
CHARLESTON, Ill., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- The lawyer for a former Marine convicted of murder will tell an Illinois jury next week that an anti-malaria drug associated with psychotic behavior and aggression triggered the killing, and he should be spared the death penalty.
The case marks the first time that side effects of the drug, called Lariam, have been raised in front of a U.S. jury in a criminal case. Some believe the drug could have played a role in a string of killings by Fort Bragg soldiers last summer, though the Army calls that unlikely.
Anthony Mertz, 26, was convicted Feb. 12 of killing fellow Eastern Illinois University student Shannon McNamara in her Charleston, Ill., apartment on June 12, 2001. The jury is now hearing testimony before deciding whether to sentence him to death.
"When the Marines gave Lariam to my client they set in motion a chain of events that caused the death of Shannon McNamara," defense counsel David Williams told United Press International Friday.
This is from Jonathan Shay in his interview with PBS on a Soldier's Heart
Psychiatrist and author, Odysseus in America
And my personal theory of what lay behind those horrible, horrible murder suicides at Fort Bragg a couple of years ago, these were all staff NCOs … and officers in Special Operations, which is the most macho of all the formations. And what's more, they had been deployed repeatedly into very dangerous, very confusing and ambiguous operations, and had come back with injuries that they could not ask for help with, because they were afraid it would end their careers. And just by coincidence, a number of them broke at the same time, and broke in this catastrophic way. That's my thought about what happened there. This is not likely to be happening with junior enlisted people who I think can get help. from Front Line Soldier's Heart http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/themes/stigma.html
4 Wives Slain In 6 Weeks At Fort Bragg Husbands Blamed For Deaths, 3 Of The Men Served In Afghanistan
FORT BRAGG, N.C., July 26, 2002
Fayetteville, N.C., police said that was when Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves — a soldier in the 3rd Special Forces Group who had been back from Afghanistan just two days — shot his wife, Teresa, and then himself in their bedroom.
Officials said Nieves had requested leave to resolve personal problems
Sheriff's investigators said Jennifer Wright was strangled June 29. Her husband, Master Sgt. William Wright of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion, reported her missing two days later. Then on July 19, he led investigators to her body in Hoke County and was charged with murder.
Wright, who had been back from Afghanistan about a month, had moved out of his house and was living in the barracks.
The couple met in high school in Mason, Ohio, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. They married shortly after Jennifer graduated.
Her father, Archie Watson, said the Wrights had talked recently about divorce. Jennifer had grown tired of military life, her father said, but William Wright was reluctant to let her go.
Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd shot his wife, Andrea, a native of Alliance, Ohio, then killed himself in their Stedman home.
The Fayetteville Observer reported Floyd was a member of Delta Force, the secretive anti-terrorism unit based at Fort Bragg. He returned from Afghanistan in January, officials said. The couple's three children were in Ohio visiting relatives at the time of the deaths.
In the fourth case, Army Sgt. Cedric Ramon Griffin, 28, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson in the July 9 death of his wife, Cumberland County Sheriff Moose Butler said.
Marilyn Griffin, 32, was found dead in the burning home. Her two children escaped the fire.
By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk
Published 8/17/2002 3:00 PM
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Friends of the three Fort Bragg soldiers suspected of killing their wives this summer say the men exhibited unusual anger and incoherence after returning from Afghanistan where they were given an anti-malaria drug associated with aggression and mental problems.
One of the soldiers was "almost incoherent" and visibly shaking while describing marital problems to a neighbor. Another became unable to control his anger at his wife in public, startling those who knew him. A third puzzled his new neighbors with his strange behavior.
Read and comment on this story from UPI on the Army's three month study the slayings of four Army wives at Fort Bragg this summer which concluded that Lariam was not a factor in the murders.
The report has sparked claims the military is covering up problems with a drug it invented and licensed. "Our military said there is no problem with (Lariam) because they developed it," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. "The hardest thing to do is develop a drug and then admit there is a problem."
Lariam is the most effective anti-malarial drug known and has been used by thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers over the past ten years. However, the drug's potential side effects are rarely reported and include agitation, depression and aggression. In July, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., called for an independent medical investigation to protect the health of Peace Corps volunteers, who are routinely prescribed the drug. Read our ongoing coverage of the Lariam controversy at: The Lariam Controversy Read the story about the results of the Fort Bragg study at: Army Fort Bragg study faces scrutiny* http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1010667.html
Although mefloquine may be the drug most often selected, Canadian Forces members have the option of using either mefloquine weekly or doxycycline daily, Journal of American Medical Association (subscription),
Navy SEAL Sues Roche over Malaria Drug, Claiming it Left Him Permanently Disabled
Military.com By Patricia Kime 12 Dec 2018
According to the Sheetses' lawyer, Kevin Boyle, the case is significant because it could "vindicate the fact that many veterans are suffering from a legitimate condition" and "ensure that those who are responsible for these serious injuries are held accountable."
Mosquito close-up. Getty Images
A former Navy SEAL has filed a lawsuit against the company that makes the anti-malarial drug Lariam, or mefloquine, alleging that the medication left him permanently disabled after taking it while serving in Afghanistan.
Andrew Sheets and his wife, Kristie, of Cazadero, California, allege that pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-LaRoche, known as Roche, was aware that the drug caused serious neurological and psychiatric side effects and failed to warn patients of the dangers. Sheets, who served in the U.S. Navy from 2000 to 2006, said he immediately experienced "violent and tragic nightmares" the first time he took Lariam, during a deployment in 2003. He later developed psoriasis, extreme paranoia, hallucinations, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
"In February 2017, Mr. Sheets was finally described as permanently disabled by his treating physician because of his debilitating, Lariam-related mental disorders," court documents state.
For more than two decades, Lariam, also known by the generic name mefloquine, was distributed to troops to prevent malaria in endemic countries. At the peak of military use in 2003, nearly 50,000 prescriptions for mefloquine were written by military doctors. read more here
Editor's Note
A previously published article featuring a graphic that depicted data on violent crimes by veterans has been removed. The article was intended to call attention to the lack of evidence correlating post-traumatic stress disorder to violent behavior among veterans, and to highlight the insufficient mental health services available to them. It failed in these regards, and we regret that the data as presented in our graphic was incomplete and misleading.
Huffington Post has done more to educate the public on the tribulations of our veterans than any other site. Time after time, especially during Suicide Prevention Month last year when they dedicated huge sections to the troops and veterans telling their stories and asking questions. Given the fact they screwed up on this one they turned around, admitted it and apologized, which far too many other news sites fail to do.
Take a good long look at the graphic supplied on the claim that murder-suicides are an issue.
It seems that the article on the Huffington Post ended up giving other reporters what they were searching for. Another headline to use to get attention while bringing the wrong attention to something that is not, repeat not, worthy of the veterans with PTSD. This was repeated on many sites last week and now it appears on PolicyMic but no one seems to actually look at the chart itself. They are actually lower than 2002.
I did a huge report in 2007 on military suicides and there was a rise in murder-suicides but most of them were tied to Lariam and other anti-malarial drugs.
The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs will study the side effects of Lariam, a drug given to servicemen to prevent malaria, Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said.
The use of Lariam came up in investigations of murders and murder-suicides involving Fort Bragg soldiers in the summer of 2002, when four soldiers were accused of killing their wives. Two of those soldiers committed suicide immediately and a third killed himself in jail.
The three soldiers who killed themselves had served in Afghanistan, where Lariam is routinely used by U.S. troops. The fourth, who is still awaiting trial, did not serve there.
There was and still is a huge problem with Zoloft. In 1999 the FDA gave Pfizer approval for PTSD treatment. Many thought it was what veterans had waited for.
Of 187 patients in the study, 53 percent of those receiving Zoloft (the brand name of the generic sertraline) were much or very much improved at the end of 12 weeks, Brady said, and some patients showed benefits within two weeks.
But that good PR didn't last long,
Suicides and Homicides in Patients Taking Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft: Why They Keep Happening -- And Why They Will Continue
Underlying Causes That Continue to Be Ignored by Mainstream Medicine and the Media "From almost the day that they were introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, sudden, unexpected suicides and homicides have been reported in patients taking serotonin-enhancing antidepressants such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. I'm not surprised this problem hasn't disappeared, nor will it unless we look deeper."
It seems that after the soldiers were murdered at Fort Hood, the press wanted to drag up everything possible to get their names in the spotlight.
How about the chart that shows suicides going up instead?
But why pay attention to the real problem? Why pay attention to the fact that suicides and attempted suicides went up after the military started the bullshit of addressing deaths caused by war but not during it? Why bother to pay attention to the fact that while the number of enlisted military folks went down the suicide rate did not really go down? After all less to count means the number of suicides would have naturally gone down. They also didn't seem to concerned with the fact that attempted suicides went up.
Guess it is just easier to make soldiers look bad instead of the actually seeing what is right in front of their face. Considering how hard they are pushing this claim right now, it makes them all look really stupid while the site where it originated looks redeemed.
By most accounts, Sgt. Robert Bales has PTSD and TBI. If true, then sending him back into combat, more than likely, included medications for both. Is anyone looking into what medications he was on and if they played a role in what happened more than PTSD and TBI? Most medications the troops are given come with clear warnings about side effects.
Looks like I should have.
Robert Bales Charged: Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre
Posted: 03/25/2012
Mark Benjamin
WASHINGTON -- Nine days after a U.S. soldier allegedly massacred 17 civilians in Afghanistan, a top-level Pentagon health official ordered a widespread, emergency review of the military’s use of a notorius anti-malaria drug called mefloquine.
Mefloquine, also called Lariam, has severe psychiatric side effects. Problems include psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations. The drug has been implicated in numerous suicides and homicides, including deaths in the U.S. military. For years the military has used the weekly pill to help prevent malaria among deployed troops.
The U.S. Army nearly dropped use of mefloquine entirely in 2009 because of the dangers, now only using it in limited circumstances, including sometimes in Afghanistan. The 2009 order from the Army said soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury should not be given the drug.
The soldier accused of grisly Afghanistan murders on March 17 of men, women and children, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2010 during his third combat tour. According to New York Times reporting, repeated combat tours also increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bales' wife, Karilyn Bales, broke her silence in an interview Sunday with NBC's Matt Lauer, airing on Monday's Today show. "It is unbelievable to me. I have no idea what happened, but he would not -- he loves children. He would not do that," she said in excerpts released Sunday.
On March 20, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Jonathan Woodson ordered a new, urgent review to make sure that troops were not getting the drug inappropriately. The task order from Woodson, obtained by The Huffington Post, orders an immediate “review of mefloquine prescribing practices” to be completed by the following Monday, six days after the order was issued. read more here
This was posted here January, 2008. Just goes to show what they new back then. It is a long post with some of the results of what they got wrong in human terms.
VA issued warning on Lariam in 2004
VA Warns Doctors About Lariam
United Press International 25 June 2004
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning doctors to watch for long-term mental problems and other health effects from an anti-malaria drug given to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.The drug is mefloquine, known by the brand name Lariam, which has been given to tens of thousands of soldiers since the war on terrorism began. Some of those soldiers say it has provoked severe mental and physical problems including suicidal and violent behavior, psychosis, convulsions and balance disorders.
Last year the Food and Drug Administration began warning that problems might last "long after" someone stops taking it.
Fort Campbell tries to stop soldier suicides
Spc. Adam Kuligowski's problems began because he couldn't sleep.
Last year, the 21-year-old soldier was working six days a week, analyzing intelligence that the military gathered while he was serving in Afghanistan. He was gifted at his job and loved being a part of the 101st Airborne Division, just like his father and his great uncle.
But Adam was tired and often late for work. His eyes were glassy and he was falling asleep while on duty. His room was messy and his uniform was dirty.
His father, Mike Kuligowski, attributes his son's sleeplessness and depression to an anti-malarial medication called mefloquine that was found in his system. In rare cases, it can cause psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, paranoia, depression, hallucination and psychotic behavior.
Army curbs prescriptions of anti-malaria drug Mefloquine
Army curbs prescriptions of anti-malaria drug
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Almost four decades after inventing a potent anti-malarial drug, the U.S. Army has pushed it to the back of its medicine cabinet.
The dramatic about-face follows years of complaints and concerns that mefloquine caused psychiatric and physical side effects even as it was used around the globe as a front-line defense against the mosquito-borne disease that kills about 800,000 people a year.
"Mefloquine is a zombie drug. It's dangerous, and it should have been killed off years ago," said Dr. Remington Nevin, an epidemiologist and Army major who has published research that he said showed the drug can be potentially toxic to the brain. He believes the drop in prescriptions is a tacit acknowledgment of the drug's serious problems.
From the Front Lines: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Legacy of Iraq at the 2007 Aspen Health Forum with discussants Charles Figley, Georg-Andreas Pogany, Jennifer Vasterling and Barbara Rombergat.
The panelists will explore the health care consequences of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related to the Iraq war for our families, communities and our society - The Aspen Institute
Dr. Rombergat began Give An Hour so that psychologist could see veterans without charging them. She understood what damage was being done with the delay in treating the wounded. With the backlog of claims, she knew it meant time was being lost in treating these veterans from coast to coast.
Georg-Andreas Pognay, came into the media spotlight, next to Jessica Lynch. As Pognay pointed out, CNN had their photographs side by side with the headline Hero and the Coward. Pognay, dealing with the brain damage being done by the drug Lariam, sought help because he felt he could no longer do his duty. He spent 10 years in the military and was in Special Forces as a sniper. During training, he had to undergo psychological testing to make sure he had what it would take to use the training he received as a sniper, able to kill at a moments notice from great distances and making snap decisions.
After seeking help, seeing a psychologist, his commander sent him back home and he was to stand trial for being a coward. He was returned to Fort Carson during a time when they were not only dismissing PTSD as a non-illness, but were berating the veterans and attacking them with insults as well as false charges of having a pre-existing personality disorder. This would have carried the death penalty for him. He was then to stand trial in a Court Martial. The charges were later all dropped but they insisted he was one of the thousands of other veterans with “pre-existing personality disorder” instead of suffering from the side effects of Lariam and PTSD.
As we later discovered, Lynch was not a “hero” the way what happened was sold to the public but she was however a real hero by having the courage to tell the truth about what really happened that day. The military loves to twist things around to sell what they want the public to believe and they have done this throughout history. We also discovered that Pognay was no coward. He was brave all those years in service to this nation and always doing what was asked of him until Lariam affected his brain and the prolonged stress of combat claimed the rest.
Pognay was eventually given an honorable discharge and then began a non-profit group Just One Wounded Warrior. He’s been speaking out on PTSD and the wounds our warriors receive doing what this nation asks of them.
If you really want to understand the facts about PTSD and our veterans, go and watch the video. It's a little over an hour long and worth the time. kc
Concerns centered on soldiers with brain injury, anxiety By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer Posted : Sunday Mar 22, 2009 14:53:47 EDT
The Army has dropped Lariam — the drug linked to side effects including suicidal tendencies, anxiety, aggression and paranoia — as its preferred protection against malaria because doctors had inadvertently prescribed it to people who should not take it.
Lariam, the brand name for mefloquine, should not be given to anyone with symptoms of a brain injury, depression or anxiety disorder, which describes many troops who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The Army’s new choice for anti-malarial protection is doxycycline, a generic antibiotic.
“In areas where doxycycline and mefloquine are equally efficacious in preventing malaria, doxycycline is the drug of choice,” Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker said in a memo dated Feb. 2. go here for more http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/03/army_lariam_032209w/
Former soldiers, families face military officials in Townsville over anti-malaria drug side effects ABC Australia By Jesse Dorsett Updated yesterday at 7:28pm
PHOTO: Mefloquine, also known as Lariam, is known to cause mental health problems.
(Flickr: David Davies)
The military's top brass has come face to face with former soldiers and their families suffering depression and anxiety after being given controversial anti-malaria drugs on deployment.
Key points:
2,000 ADF personnel given anti-malaria drug in East Timor over five years Drug side effects include mood swings and suicidal thoughts ADF says they did not know drugs would produce chronic problems A forum has been held in Townsville, in north Queensland, to give former soldiers, ex-service organisations and health professional the chance to discuss the effects of anti-malaria medication Mefloquine, as well as the drug Tafenoquine.
Nearly 2,000 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were prescribed Mefloquine, also known as Lariam, primarily in East Timor, between July 2000 and June 2015.
The drug is known to cause agitation, mood swings, panic attacks, confusion, hallucinations, aggression, psychosis and suicidal thoughts in a small number of patients.
Another 492 took Tafenoquine as part of a trial in 2000 and 2001.
read more here and remember US soldiers took it too!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 121 NY Times veterans had no criminal history before Iraq Vets Commit PTSD-Fueled Murders in the Wake of Returning HomePosted by Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon at 12:05 PM on January 15, 2008.Unlike the majority of civilians who commit murder, the majority of the 121 veterans documented by the Times reporters had no criminal history.This story about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who've come back from the war only to commit acts of violence at home is a must-read. The NY Times found 121 cases of murders committed by veterans back from these wars, 1/3 of which were domestic murders, and the reporters suspect this is only a percentage of the actual murders committed, because they got that number by scouring newspapers around the country, not from statistics cultivated by the Pentagon, which, surprise surprise, doesn't collect such data. The numbers are not insignificant.
When I posted the links to the NY Times piece, I tried to point out that these veterans, these combat veterans, came home changed. Some came home changed because of PTSD and some came home almost as if the brutality of war penetrated their souls. It is possible and it is a human condition when you go through some of the things they go through. Statistically however, these incidences are few and far between. Some come home changed because of PTSD and the medications they are given or the propensity to self-medicate with alcohol and street drugs. We have years of documented suspected links between medications such as Lariam and crimes. I will continue to use the "suspected" link because we simply do not know for sure if it was the PTSD and Lariam or Lariam alone.
What I was saying, but put it rather inadequately, is that if they need help, they should get it no matter if they are in jail or in the hospital. If they are so deeply changed by what they went through, prison serves no purpose or justice. If they were only slightly changed then they need therapy even in prison. If they were just using it to try to get them off the hook, then throw the book at them.
The research I did for the suicide video lead me to numerous incidences of crimes committed by veterans. Most of the time they were against family members or significant others. These were not random crimes. We have a lot of veterans in prison right now directly tied to drug use and alcoholism otherwise known as "self medicating." We also have crimes committed because they are in fact a lot like the general population and some of us commit crimes too. No one should ever get a "get out of jail card" free for any reason, unless of course they are innocent or impaired. We all need to take a serious look at all the ramifications of combat and stop putting them into group A or B. None of them go into combat the same or for the same reason and none of them come out the same as their buddy does. The only one thing connecting all of them is that they are rare and they faced death because they served in a time of horror. Some times it comes home with them and we need to deal with it, step up when it did and try to provide the right response to it.
Veterans, families want answers over Forces' use of Mefloquine Toronto Sun crime reporter Chris Doucette. (Sun files) By Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun Monday, January 23, 2017 The call for accountability over the Canadian Forces’ use of a controversial anti-malaria drug is growing louder and veterans and family members hope Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hear their cries for help.
A former medic who served in Somalia, the wife of a soldier disgraced in the Somalia Affair, the mother of a soldier who killed himself in Rwanda and a doctor with expertise in the neuropsychiatric effects of Mefloquine toxicity recently submitted written statements to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs outlining the drugs’ devastation.
Marj Matchee writes her husband, Clayton, suffered paranoia and hallucinations prior to his 1993 arrest for the deadly beating of a Somali teen.
“You see things when you sleep. You see it in the daytime too,” she recalls him saying.
Many veterans who were forced to take the drug before it was licensed still suffer from side effects that Health Canada and AA Pharma, the Canadian supplier of the drug, quietly added to Mefloquine’s warning label last year.
“We must do more to reach out to these veterans, to acknowledge the harms that Mefloquine has caused them, and commit to funding research to study and ultimately try to reverse these effects,” Matchee writes.
Dr. Remington Nevin, of Johns Hopkins University, says Mefloquine toxicity can cause brain damage that mimics PTSD, so sufferers may receive the wrong treatment and symptoms such as suicidal thoughts persist.
read more here
These may help their case
Lariam Psychiatric and Suicidal Side Effects
Research shows the anti-malaria drug mefloquine hydrochloride—formerly sold under the brand name Lariam—might cause psychiatric abnormalities, suicidal ideations and behaviors, and potentially permanent nerve damage. Because of these psychiatric side effects, the drug’s manufacturer, Hoffmann-La Roche, pulled it from the market in 2008. The U.S. Army continued to administer it to soldiers, however, until 2011, when the army ceased prescribing Lariam even for soldiers deployed in malaria-prone regions such as Afghanistan. In July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified the public that mefloquine products’ drug labels would be updated with a black box warning—the agency’s most serious kind—concerning the aforementioned side effects.
This report is about Australia veterans but they are just as human as US veterans are and fighting for the truth. Veterans say report on anti-malaria drug mefloquine downplays side-effects The Guardian Melissa Davey June 2, 2017
Former soldiers say they were not properly informed of potential hazards, including neurological problems, suicidal thoughts and nightmares
“The main issue of concern is the chronic health effects experienced by the 5,000 personnel given mefloquine and tafenoquine since the early 1990s,” McCarthy said. “Drug regulators including the US Food and Drug Administration warn that mefloquine is able to cause neuropsychiatric side effects that may persist or become permanent.
An unpublished government report on an anti-malarial drug given to thousands of Australian soldiers has been criticised by a decorated war veteran for downplaying the drug’s side-effects.
Mefloquine, also known as Lariam, was given to soldiers deployed to Bougainville and Timor-Leste more than 15 years ago as part of clinical trials comparing its efficacy to doxycycline, an antibiotic and the first-line medication for malaria prevention in the Australian defence force.
Since then there have been well-documented questions raised about the consent process for the soldiers involved in the trials, and veterans have said they were not properly informed of mefloquine’s potential side-effects. Veterans have also spoken of symptoms including suicidal thoughts, hallucinations and nightmares which they attribute to being on the drug, sometimes emerging years later. They have accused researchers of downplaying the extent of severe side-effects such as neurological issues. read more here Other reports going back to 2008
Mefloquine stopped for Green Berets and Special Forces almost 10 years too late
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 19, 2013
In 2004, the VA issued a warning. "The drug is mefloquine, known by the brand name Lariam, which has been given to tens of thousands of soldiers since the war on terrorism began. Some of those soldiers say it has provoked severe mental and physical problems including suicidal and violent behavior, psychosis, convulsions and balance disorders."
In 2009 Spc. Adam Kuligowski's problems began because he couldn't sleep. The "21-year-old soldier was working six days a week, analyzing intelligence that the military gathered while he was serving in Afghanistan. He was gifted at his job and loved being a part of the 101st Airborne Division, just like his father and his great uncle. But Adam was tired and often late for work. His eyes were glassy and he was falling asleep while on duty. His room was messy and his uniform was dirty. His father, Mike Kuligowski, attributes his son's sleeplessness and depression to an anti-malarial medication called mefloquine that was found in his system. In rare cases, it can cause psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, paranoia, depression, hallucination and psychotic behavior." That report came out in 2010.
By 2011 "dramatic about-face follows years of complaints and concerns that mefloquine caused psychiatric and physical side effects even as it was used around the globe as a front-line defense against the mosquito-borne disease that kills about 800,000 people a year. "Mefloquine is a zombie drug. It's dangerous, and it should have been killed off years ago," said Dr. Remington Nevin, an epidemiologist and Army major who has published research that he said showed the drug can be potentially toxic to the brain. He believes the drop in prescriptions is a tacit acknowledgment of the drug's serious problems."
In 2012 "Mefloquine, also called Lariam, has severe psychiatric side effects. Problems include psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations. The drug has been implicated in numerous suicides and homicides, including deaths in the U.S. military. For years the military has used the weekly pill to help prevent malaria among deployed troops."
I can do this all day but the military just decided to stop giving it to Green Berets and other Special Forces. "Quoting the FDA’s July safety warning, the Surgeon General’s Office of the Army Special Operations Command sent a message to commanders and medical personnel last Friday ordering a halt in prescribing mefloquine for malaria prevention for the approximately 25,000 Green Berets, Rangers, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations soldiers, command spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Connolly said."
They can pretend all they want that they didn't know what was going on before but the results have been deadly.
Green Berets, other elite Army forces ordered to stop taking anti-malarial drug mefloquine
By Associated Press
Thursday, September 19, 2013
WASHINGTON — The top doctor for Green Berets and other elite Army commandos has told troops to immediately stop taking mefloquine, an anti-malaria drug found to cause permanent brain damage in rare cases.
The ban among special operations forces is the latest development in a long-running controversy over mefloquine. The drug was developed by the Army in the 1970s and has been taken by millions of travelers and people in the military over the years. As alternatives were developed, it fell out of favor as the front-line defense against malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that international health officials say kills roughly 600,000 people a year.
The new prohibition among special operations forces follows a July 29 safety announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it had strengthened warnings about neurologic side effects associated with the drug. The FDA added a boxed warning to the drug label, the most serious kind of warning, saying neurologic side effects like dizziness, loss of balance and ringing in the ears may become permanent. read more here
Veterans allege devastating side effects from anti-malaria drug they were ordered to take WHAS ABC 11 News Author: Andrea McCarren May 3, 2018
More than a million Americans are believed to have taken the anti-malaria drug called mefloquine. But veterans, former Peace Corps volunteers, government employees and world travelers say they've suffered acute side effects that are getting progressively worse.
For decades, the Department of Defense ordered tens of thousands of American service members to take a drug intended to prevent malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that can kill. And now, veterans, former Peace Corps volunteers, federal employees and world travelers believe mefloquine caused some acute psychiatric and physical conditions that they say are getting progressively worse.
Mefloquine was sold under the brand name Lariam until its manufacturer stopped producing the drug in 2008. Generic versions are still available in the United States, but only by prescription. Common side effects attributed to the drug include paranoia, anxiety, depression and neurological issues, including vertigo and tinnitus, which is the perception of noise or ringing in the ears.
"We have a hidden epidemic of veterans who are suffering the chronic neuropsychiatric effects of mefloquine poisoning," said Dr. Remington Nevin, widely considered the world's expert in the potential side effects of mefloquine. "And in many cases, they’re being misdiagnosed. Misdiagnosed with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder." read more here
We have been reading about this since 2008. Why are we still reading about it now? VA issued a warning about Lariam in 2004. By 2012 after Staff Sgt. Robert Bales shot 17 in Afghanistan, later found guilty, the military "scrambled" to limit it. By 2013, the Green Berets and other Special Forces units stopped using it. BY 2015, reports were coming out from Australia and a veteran said, "At various times it was like living in a heavily armed lunatic asylum" after taking it. In 2017, Canada was also faced with problems. So why after all these years are we still talking about it and who is responsible for what it did to the men and women the military gave it to?
Soldiers fear drug program has scarred them with depression, anxiety, nightmares
Sydney Morning Herald
Henry Belot
November 29, 2015
"At various times it was like living in a heavily armed lunatic asylum."
ADF veteran prescribed Lariam
Major Stuart McCarthy is calling for a public inquiry into the ADF's use of antimalarial drug mefloquine. Photo: Brendon Thorne
Australian soldiers and veterans are calling for an immediate inquiry into the use of an antimalarial drug they believe scarred them with permanent psychological damage, anxiety attacks, vertigo, nightmares, suicidal thoughts and hallucinations.
The group, which includes commandos and officers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, believe they have been incorrectly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression and were ignored by the military after raising concerns about the drug.
The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force has launched an internal inquiry into the use of the drug mefloquine, or Lariam, which has been used on up to 2000 personnel since a controversial drug trial in East Timorin 2001-02.
Major Stuart McCarthy was prescribed mefloquine while serving in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2001 and has since suffered depression, vertigo, hearing and memory problems and cognitive impairment.
Major Stuart McCarthy was prescribed mefloquine while serving in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2001 and has since suffered depression, vertigo, hearing and memory problems and cognitive impairment. Photo: Brendon Thorne
But documents obtained by Fairfax Media reveal Chief of Army Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell does not support a campaign against the drug because it would deny deployment opportunities, despite acknowledging the side effects.
"I have been an army officer 27 years and I have no trust in the Australian Defence Force's handling of this matter," he said.
read more here
Why Isn't the Press on a Suicide Watch?
You'd never know that at least 3% of all American deaths in Iraq are due to self-inflicted wounds. And that doesn't include the many vets who have killed themselves after returning home.
By Greg Mitchell
NEW YORK (August 13, 2007) -- Would it surprise you to learn that according to official Pentagon figures, at least 118 U.S. military personnel in Iraq have committed suicide since April 2003? That number does not include many unconfirmed reports, or those who served in the war and then killed themselves at home (a sizable, if uncharted, number).
While troops who have died in "hostile action" -- and those gravely injured and rehabbing at Walter Reed and other hospitals -- have gained much wider media attention in recent years, the suicides (about 3% of our overall Iraq death toll) remain in the shadows.
click post title for the rest
Thank you Greg Mitchell for doing this!
That 118 number is the number they will admit to. There are a lot more.
Consider a few things. "Under investigation" hides many of these suicides. If the DOD does not finish an "investigation" then that death is not counted as a suicide, even if it is.
The DOD would not be in emergency mode if there were only 118 suicides considering there have been years of occupations in two nations. I am in no way trivializing 118 suicides but what I am suggesting is that the DOD will not jump into action unless there is a crisis. They know they have a crisis.
The VA during testimonies before congress have admitting they have 1,000 committing suicide every year within their system alone. They also stated that there are an additional 5,000 committing suicide yearly.
When I was doing the research for the video, Death Because They Served, I was looking into the reports of the "non-combat deaths" while taking a look at the reports from the other nations involved in both occupations. What I found was startling. There seems to be a consistent pattern of information buried. What appears to be a suicide when the DOD releases a death press release is that it is always "under investigation" but there is never a follow up release that can be easily found. The other tactic they use now is they do not release the name. This makes follow up research impossible.
I really suggest you read the piece from Editor and Publisher. If the following is not enough to compel you to push the media to do their job, then you must be among the people Bush told to go shopping to show their support for the troops.
Pfc. Steven Acosta 19 Company C, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 4th Infantry Division Calexico, California Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baquba, Iraq, on October 26, 2003 As Pfc. Steven Acosta was preparing to serve in Iraq, his older brother Gerardo was just returning from the same war. "I just wish I could see him again, and just be with him like we used to be before," said Gerardo Acosta, a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. Steven Acosta, a 19-year-old supply clerk from Calexico, Calif., died Oct. 26 from a gunshot wound in a non-hostile incident in Baqouba, Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Hood. Acosta enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school last year, before his older brother had a chance to talk to him about becoming a Marine. Gerardo Acosta last saw his brother over Christmas when he returned from boot camp. The second-youngest of five brothers, Steven was sentimental and outgoing. His friends would regularly gather at the Acosta home, bringing their guitars to play punk rock while Steven kept the beat on the drums.
http://obits.suntimes.com/ChicagoSunTimes/Soldier/Story.aspx?PersonID=3097376
Michael Scott Adams, 20, Spartanburg SC August 21, 2003 A private first class dies of smoke inhalation after a bullet ricochets during a training exercise and ignites a fire at an indoor shooting range.
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph D. Alomar 22 Navy Provisional Detention Battalion Brooklyn, New York Died of a non-combat related incident at Camp Bucca, Iraq, on January 17, 2007. Alomar’s death was not the result of hostile action, but occurred in a hostile fire zone.
Spc. Jason E. Ames 21 Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 25th Infantry Division Cerulean, Kentucky Died of non-combat related injuries in Mosul, Iraq, on August 31, 2005
Sgt. 1st Class Moses E. Armstead 44 16th Ordnance Battalion, 61st Ordnance Brigade Rochester, New York Died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany of a non-combat related illness identified on October 5, 2005, as he was returning from leave status and preparing to redeploy to Afghanistan.
08/05/06 Arndt, Raymond Master Corporal 32 Canada Canadian Army Loyal Edmonton Regiment Non-hostile - accident
Marine Lance Cpl. Trevor D. Aston
Cpl. Aston After the 2001 terrorist attacks, Trevor Aston enlisted in the Marine Reserves at the relatively advanced age of 29. "He was terribly shaken after 9/11," said his grandmother, Lenore Aston. Aston, 32, of Austin, Texas, was killed Feb. 22 in Al Anbar Province. The incident, described as non-hostile, is under investigation. Aston's grandmother served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II, and his father was in the Army for 27 years. As a boy Aston lived in Texas, Germany and other locations where his father, Robert Aston, was stationed.
He attended Austin Community College and had worked as a bartender and booked concert acts for a nearby nightclub. He wanted to be a firefighter either in Austin or in Houston, where his mother lives. "He was a good friend to many people," said his mother, Jewel Aston. "He was just an all-around, good, nice kid."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/noadsindex/iraqcasualties/vignettes85.html
Pfc. Shawn M. Atkins 20 Headquarters Company, 4th Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division Parker, Colorado Died as a result of a non-combat injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 14, 2004
1/25/2007 JUSTIN BAILEY 27 CALIFORNIA OVERDOSE Iraq war veteran Justin Bailey checked himself in to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center just after Thanksgiving.Among the first wave of Marines sent into battle, the young rifleman had been diagnosed since his return with posttraumatic stress disorder and a groin injury. Now, Bailey acknowledged to his family and a friend, he needed immediate treatment for his addiction to prescription and street drugs."We were so happy," said his stepmother, Mary Kaye Bailey, 41. "We were putting all of our faith into those doctors."On Jan. 25, Justin Bailey got prescriptions filled for five medications, including a two-week supply of the potent painkiller methadone, according to his medical records. A day later, he was found dead of an apparent overdose in his room at a VA rehabilitation center on the hospital grounds. He was 27.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/
la-me-vet12mar12,0,5395693.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Pvt. Michael V. Bailey 20 Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Waldorf, Maryland Died of non-combat related injuries in Salerno, Afghanistan, on October 27, 2006
Staff Sgt. Nathan J. Bailey 46 1175th Transportation Company, Tennessee Army National Guard Nashville, Tennessee Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on November 12, 2003 A staff sergeant dies from a "non-hostile" gunshot wound while on guard duty in Kuwait. [Nathan J. Bailey, 46, Nashville TN]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
1st Lt. Debra A. Banaszak 35 1035th Maintenance Company, Missouri Army National Guard Bloomington, Illinois "Died from non-combat related injuries at Camp Victory, Kuwait, on October 28, 2005Barbara Butler, mother of Army National Guard 1st Lt. Debra A. Banaszak, 35, of Bloomington, Ill., said she has trouble understanding why her daughter would have taken her own life in Kuwait last October, as the military has determined. She said that while Banaszak, the single mother of a teenage son, was proud to serve her country and had not complained, the stresses of the deployment may have exacerbated her depression.
Staff Sgt. Patrick O. Barlow 42 50th Engineer Company Greensboro, North Carolina Died from a non-combat-related medical condition in San Antonio, Texas, on October 18, 2006
Spc. Doug Barber: One Year After His Tragic Suicide-Unaired Interviewsby Jay Shaft Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007 at 7:39 PM Two previously unreleased audio interviews with Spc. Douglas Barber, who served in Iraq with the Ohio National Guard. Released to commemorate the one year anniversary of his suicide due to untreated PTSD and overwhelming mental trauma. Interviews conducted by Jay Shaft: Editor-In-Chief/Executive Investigative Editor Thought Bomb Radio- Shock and Awe For the Mind Radio Hour/Coalition For Free Thought In Media 1-16-2006
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2007/01/9494.php
Last month, on December 16, 2005, Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Spc. Douglas Barber was my guest on my radio talk show. He said he'd been diagnosed with PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) and despite receiving some help from the V.A., was still having trouble getting his life back together. Yesterday, one month later, on January 16, 2006, I received an email from a listener who'd been exchanging emails with Douglas since his appearance on my show. Douglas has just sent him an email that troubled the listener. Douglas said he no longer had anything to live for, and was getting ready to "check out of this world." My wife immediately called Douglas and left a message on his cell phone. She also called the Montgomery Police Department in Alabama. At the start of the 3rd hour of my program last night, I received an email from one of Douglas's friends, who told me that Douglas had committed suicide earlier that afternoon. Today I was able to confirm his suicide with the Opelika, Alabama Police Department. The officer in charge of the investigation told me that it had happened with officers on the scene trying to talk Douglas out of it. The officer told me Douglas took his gun, fired one shot, and killed himself.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6886
Bartels, Daniel D. Specialist 22 Army 10/019/05 weapon discharge
Pfc. Gunnar D. Becker 19 Company B, 2nd Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division Forestburg, South Dakoka Died of non-combat related injuries in Mosul, Iraq, on January 13, 2005 BAUMHOLDER, Germany — A 1st Infantry Division soldier based in Vilseck was convicted Thursday in connection with a January accidental discharge death in Iraq. Staff Sgt. James Leon Parker, a tank commander from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 63rd Armor, was convicted of negligent homicide and dereliction of duty. Parker, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced to six months’ confinement at Mannheim Confinement Facility and a reduction in rank to E-1, or private. Parker’s defense attorney, Maj. Thomas Roughneen, asserted that Parker was a victim of circumstances on Jan. 13. Roughneen wrote in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes that he would appeal the decision. The e-mail contained court-martial results and a description of events leading up to the accidental discharge of an M-2, .50-caliber machine gun, which killed Pfc. Gunnar D. Becker, 19, of Forestburg, S.D. Until Roughneen’s e-mail, the Army had not made public the details of Becker’s death, or that Parker was being tried. Becker was killed when a round discharged while crewmembers were dismantling and moving a machine gun, according to a 1st ID news release issued Monday. A panel found that Parker was negligent in his responsibility to clear the weapon, the release stated.
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,81648,00.html
Spc. Rusty W. Bell 21 Company A, 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Pocahontas, Arkansas Died of non-combat related injuries in Taji, Iraq, on August 12, 2005 Similarly, Army Spec. Rusty W. Bell, 21, of Pocahontas, Ark., showed signs of combat stress after his first deployment to the Middle East in 2003 as a member of the Army National Guard, said his mother, Darlene Gee. When he came home in April 2004, he enlisted in the Army and was sent back to Iraq in early 2005."He saw tons of combat that first time, and I think it affected him," Gee said. "I never asked him about it straight-out, but he said a few things that stick with me. He said, `Mom, I wish they'd just nuke the entire place. I know I would die, but at least I would die for a reason.' I said, `Bub, don't talk like that.'"I thought they shouldn't have sent him back so soon," she said. "Let him have a normal life for a while, after what he'd been through."An autopsy report on Bell's death concludes that he shot himself last August, with witnesses saying he was "distraught over family problems." Gee said she was not aware that her son, who was married, was having any significant personal problems.
http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental4.artmay17,0,3488576.story?page=2
Spc. Robert T. Benson 20 Company A, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division Spokane, Washington Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 4, 2003 A specialist dies from a "non-hostile" gunshot wound to the head at a checkpoint. [Robert T. Benson, 20, Spokane WA]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Staff Sgt. Sean B. Berry 26 Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 112th Armor, 56th Brigade Combat Team, Texas Army National Guard Mansfield, Texas Died of non-combat related injuries in Taqqadum, Iraq, on October 3, 2005 Sean B. Berry Hometown: MansfieldAge: 26Rank: Sgt.Branch: Army National GuardAs a child, Sean "Brady" Berry enjoyed sports, particularly soccer. In Iraq, nothing changed. His love of the game led him to arrange to have 1,000 soccer balls shipped from Texas to Iraqi children. "He really liked kids a lot and he really liked helping," said his father, John Berry. Berry, 26, of Mansfield, Texas, was killed by the accidental discharge of a weapon Oct. 3 in Taqaddum.
http://cbs11tv.com/warcasualties/?b_start=6
Pfc. Christopher T. Blaney 19 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Winter Park, Florida Died from a non-combat related incident in Taji, Iraq, on September 29, 2006
Sgt. Aron C. Blum 22 Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Tucson, Arizona Died on December 28, 2006, of a non-hostile cause after being evacuated from Anbar province, Iraq, on December 8. Sgt. Aron Cody Blum, 22, died two weeks ago of aplastic anemia — the failure of the bone marrow to make new blood cells — a condition that strikes only two in 1 million Americans. Although some veterans of both Iraq wars have blamed their development of this disease on toxic battlefield exposures — including depleted uranium and burning oil fields — or even the anthrax vaccine, a link has never been proved.
http://www.gulfwarvets.com/marine_rare_disease.htm
Sgt. 1st Class Craig A. Boling 38 Company C, 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, Indiana Army National Guard Elkhart, Indiana Died of a non-combat related cause at Camp Wolf, Kuwait on July 8, 2003 A sergeant first class dies of a heart attack while eating with his unit in Kuwait. [Craig A. Boling, 38, Elkhart IN]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
06/21/06 Craig, Heather N. Staff Sergeant 28 US U.S. Army 159th Air Ambulance Medical Company Non-hostile Naray (Nangarhar Pr.)
Ukraine
Capt. Oleksii Bondarenko 35 5th Mechanized Brigade, Ukrainian Army Reserve Ukraine Committed suicide by shooting himself in Kut, Iraq, on November 19, 2003
Spc. Christopher K. Boone 34 121st Infantry (Long Range Surveillance), Georgia Army National Guard Augusta, Georgia Died of a non-combat related injury in Balad, Iraq, on February 17, 2007
Clarence E. Boone
A chief warrant officer dies from a non-combat injury in Kuwait. [Clarence E. Boone, 50, Fort Worth TX] 12/02/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Timothy Bowman
FORRESTON, Ill. — A year ago on Thanksgiving morning, in the corrugated metal pole barn that housed his family's electrical business, Timothy Bowman put a handgun to his head and pulled the trigger. He had been home from the Iraq war for eight months. Once a fun-loving, life-of-the-party type, Bowman had slipped into an abyss, tormented by things he'd been ordered to do in war. "I'm OK. I can deal with it," he would say whenever his father, Mike, urged him to get counseling. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing a wave of returning veterans such as Bowman who are struggling with memories of a war where it's hard to distinguish innocent civilians from enemy fighters and where the threat of suicide attacks and roadside bombs haunts the most routine mission. Since 2001, about 1.4 million Americans have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or other locations in the war on terror.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003566773_vets11.html
Sgt. Timothy R. Boyce 29 Maintenance Troop, Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment North Salt Lake, Utah Died of a non-combat related cause at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, on December 15, 2005
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2005.12.html
Spc. Edward W. Brabazon 20 Company A, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 9, 2004 Parents suspect it was murder
Kenneth R. Bradley, 39, Utica MS A staff sergeant dies of a heart attack. 5/28/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
MICHAEL BRAMER 23 NORTH CAROLINA GUNSHOT 1/17/2007The first time that Michael J. Bramer died, he was serving in Iraq, his sister said, and he felt a tranquillity that was elusive in the months after he was brought back to life. "What he talked about in the beginning was the feeling he felt when his heart stopped," said Barbara Bramer of Boston. "He said it was just very peaceful for him, and that was his expectation of what he would have had if they didn't revive him." Then a sergeant first class in special forces with the Army's 82d Airborne Division, Mr. Bramer suffered severe head injuries in October 2003, when part of an unstable structure collapsed as he was helping string barbed wire outside Baghdad, his sister said. The impact blinded him in one eye. During surgery, plates were placed in his head. Soon, a series of migraines, each more acute, disturbed his days and nights. Discharged from the Army in June, Mr. Bramer had been living in a Fayetteville, N.C., apartment. At 23, he had set aside his hopes of attending MIT, where he had taken summer courses during high school in Boston. On Jan. 17, while his roommate and a friend were downstairs, he turned up the surround sound on his television and took his life in his bedroom, his sister said. ...
Pfc. Jeffrey F. Braun 19 Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Stafford, Connecticut "Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 12, 2003The only confirmed Connecticut suicide is that of Army Pfc. Jeffrey Braun, 19, of Stafford, who died in December 2003. His father, William Braun, told The Courant he still did not have a full explanation of what happened to Jeffrey, but said, ""I've chosen not to pursue it or question it. It's over and done with.""
GREGORY N. BRAUN 26 WISCONSIN GUNSHOT3/6/2006 A private first class is killed by a "non-hostile" gunshot wound. [Jeffrey F. Braun, 19, Stafford Springs CT]
http://www.coalitionmemorial.org/pdf/abraun.pdf
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Spc. Joshua T. Brazee 25 Howitzer Battery, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Sand Creek, Michigan "Died from non-combat related injuries in Qaim, Iraq, on May 23, 2005Army Spec. Joshua T. Brazee, 25, of Sand Creek, Mich., had been in Iraq for less than three months when the military says he shot himself with his rifle in May 2005. According to his autopsy report, he had ""talked with other soldiers about death and killing, and also about the idea of suicide."
Pvt. Michael P. Bridges 23 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Placentia, California Died in a non-combat related incident in Taji, Iraq, on November 2, 2006
Briones Jr. Pablito Pena Seamen Navy 22 12/28/04 weapon discharge added 4/1/07 Seaman Pablito Pena Briones Jr. 22 1st Marine Division Detachment Anaheim, Calfornia Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Falluja, Iraq, on December 28, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2004.12.html
Staff Sgt. Cory W. Brooks 32 Company A, 153rd Engineer Battalion, South Dakota Army National Guard Philip, South Dakota "Died of non-combat related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 24, 2004Among them was Army Staff Sgt. Cory W. Brooks, 32, of Philip, S.D., who shot himself in the head on April 24, 2004. In sworn statements, a major and first lieutenant acknowledged they had conducted ""counseling"" with Brooks, and a first sergeant ""detailed his knowledge of SSG Brooks' suicidal ideations.""
Lance Cpl. Dominic C. Brown 19 Truck Company, Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Austin, Texas Died due to a non-combat related incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on September 13, 2004
Pvt. Matthew D. Bush 20 F Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division East Alton, Illinois Died in his sleep on August 8, 2003, in Camp Caldwell in Kirkush, Iraq. A fellow soldier tried to wake Bush and noticed he was not breathing. A private dies from the heat. [Matthew D. Bush, 20, East Alton IL]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Sgt. Robert Busuttil 30 Royal Logistics Corps Tycoch, Swansea, Wales Killed by a fellow soldier at the British base at Kabul International Airport on August 17, 2002
CHARLES CALL 30 WEST VIRGINIA GUNSHOT 2/3/2006 “When you see little children on the side of the roads who are so happy and giving you a thumbs up and waving, the look on their faces when I would hand out toys and candy to them, the grateful parents standing close by their children, watching in joy as their little ones get to share a small moment with the world’s greatest army — for that moment there was no war, no death, no destruction or hate ...”
— Letter home from Iraq from Army Sgt. Charles Call to his mother, published in the Sunday Gazette-Mail, Jan. 23, 2005 LEON — One year after Chuck Call wrote these words to his mother, he committed suicide. For example, Call didn’t qualify for most veterans’ health benefits because in 2003, the VA suspended enrollment for higher-income veterans whom the VA has not determined to have a service-related condition. Call, who ran heavy equipment for a grading company, fit that category.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/index.cfm/page/Article/ID/7672
Dominic Campisi (1974-2005)
This memorial website was created in the memory of our beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and great friend, Dominic Campisi. Dom was born in Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 19, 1974. He weighed only 5 lbs 5oz and he was a happy and contented child.Dom choose to leave us, six days after returning from Uzbekistan on April 17, 2005; just before his 31st birthday.
http://www.angelfamilies.cityslide.com/page/page/2659853.htm
Spc. Frederick A. Carlson 25 Company B, 228th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Died of a non-combat related cause in Taqqadum, Iraq, on March 25, 2006 "Huffing" caused gaurdsman's death A Pennsylvania National Guard soldier who died in Iraq this spring accidentally killed himself while inhaling from a container of pressurized air to get high, an Army investigation concluded.Frederick Carlson IV, 25, of Bethlehem, was found unconscious in his room at the base in Taqqadum shortly before 6 p.m. on March 26, according to an Army report obtained by The Morning Call of Allentown through a Freedom of Information Act request.Carlson went to sleep after returning from a mission at 6 a.m. and woke up around 4:30 p.m., investigators said. He was found unconscious a little more than an hour later and could not be revived.
http://solventabuse.blogspot.com/2006/12/huffing-caused-gaurdsmans-death.html
Spc. Curtis A. Carter 25 Headquarters Company 3d Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Calvary Division Lafayette, Louisiana Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Kuwait on February 27, 2002
Spc. Justin B. Carter 21 Company E, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Mansfield, Missouri Died from non-combat related injuries at Forward Operating Base McKenzie near Samarra, Iraq, on February 16, 2005 Justin Carter had a truck that locals had nicknamed the "Red Blur." "Everybody in town knew Justin and his truck," said Carter's stepfather and deer-hunting buddy, Brett Misemer. Carter, 21, of Mansfield, Mo., died Feb. 16 when an anti-armor weapon discharged inside an arms storage site in Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Benning. Carter was in a rush to live life, but he always kept track of details about friends and made time to speak to each person at family gatherings. He once invited a handful of friends from his barracks to his home for the Thanksgiving holidays. On Valentine's Day, he remembered to e-mail his mother, Becky, and send his love. "I thank GOD every day for giving me the chance to be raised by the best mother on earth!" he wrote just days before his death. Before he graduated from high school in Mansfield and enlisted in the Army, Carter was involved with the Future Farmers of America. His cousin, Rebecca Denney, remembered the adventures they had during high school, such as the prom they never quite made it to. He was the life of the party wherever he went, she said.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/noadsindex/iraqcasualties/vignettes85.html
Staff Sgt. Virgil R. Case 37 Company B, 145th Support Battalion, 116th Brigade Combat Team, Idaho Army National Guard Mountain Home, Idaho Died of non-combat related injuries in Kirkuk, Iraq, on June 1, 2005
Lance Cpl. James A. Casper 20 Battery E, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Coolidge, Texas Died in a non-combat related incident at Asad, Iraq, on March 25, 2004
Capt. Paul J. Cassidy 36 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve Laingsburg, Michigan Died as a result of non-combat injuries in Camp Babylon, Iraq on July 13, 2003
Pfc. Stephen A. Castellano 21 Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division Long Beach, California Died from a non-combat related injury in Mosul, Iraq, on January 28, 2005
Staff Sgt. Roland L. Castro 26 Battery A, 1st Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment San Antonio, Texas Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Camp Cedar II in southern Iraq on January 16, 2004 A staff sergeant is accidentally shot to death while searching a bunker. [Roland L. Castro, 26, San Antonio TX]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lance Cpl. Geofrey R. Cayer 20 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Fitchburg, Massachusetts Died of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on July 18, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergrene 25 Assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic South St. Paul, Minnesota Died in a non-combat related incident near Iskandariaya, Iraq, on September 11, 2004
Capt. Jeremy A. Chandler 30 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group Clarksville, Tennessee Died of non-hostile injuries while he was conducting training operations at Forward Operating Base Ripley in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, on August 11, 2005
Pfc. Ryan D. ChristensenIllness in Iraq kills soldier from Shore (The Star-Ledger)A 22-year-old soldier from Spring Lake Heights who spent the last 10 months in Iraq died at a U.S. hospital, where he had been sent for treatment of an undisclosed illness, the Department of Defense announced.
http://www.nj.com/war/soldiers/index.ssf?/iraq/stories/casualties/list.html
Lance Cpl. Steven M. Chavez 20 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Hondo, New Mexico Died of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on March 14, 2007
Lance Cpl. Jeffery L. Clark 24 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division Bay City, Florida Died of a non-hostile medical illness at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on July 22, 2003
1st Sgt. Herbert R. Claunch 58 217th Military Police Company, Alabama Army National Guard Wetumpka, Alabama Died after collapsing on the floor in his quarters in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on April 18, 2004
Staff Sgt. Thomas W. Clemons 37 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor Regiment, Kentucky Army National Guard Leitchfield, Kentucky Died from a non-combat health-related incident in Diwaniya, Iraq, on December 10, 2006
Zeferino E. Colunga, 20, Bellville TX]A specialist dies of pneumonia and leukemia. [ 8/6/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lance Cpl. Adam C. Conboy 21 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province on May 12, 2006
UK
Sgt. Paul Connolly 33 21 Engineer Regiment, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers Crawley, West Sussex, England Connolly was found dead from a gunshot wound at Shaibah Logistic Base in southern Iraq on December 26, 2004. The UK Ministry of Defense said the initial inquiry into his death did not indicate hostile action or other suspicious circumstances.
Master Sgt. James C. Coons 35 385th Signal Company, 54th Signal Battalion Conroe, Texas Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq, Coons' body was found at an outpatient hotel at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on July 4, 2003. In December 2005, a military casualty board ruled that his suicide should be considered a casualty of war. suicide
Jason Cooper 23 Monies, IA Terri Jones lost her son Jason Cooper just over a year ago. He was an Army Reservist in the Iraq War. On July 14, 2005, four months after returning home to Iowa, he hanged himself
RICHARD CORCORAN 34 FORT BRAGG GUNSHOT 2/3/2005 Spc. Richard T. Corcoran, 34, shot himself Feb. 3 at his ex-wife's home near the North Carolina base. He first shot her boyfriend several times, then shot her in the arm. Both survived. Served in Afghanistan. Suspected Lariam link Corcoran, the latest Fort Bragg suicide, was charged in 1989 in an incident in Glen Ridge, N.J., in which several football players were accused of raping a mentally retarded girl. The charges against Corcoran were dropped the day before the trial, and he won $200,000 in a federal civil-rights lawsuit claiming malicious prosecution.
http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2028208.html
Staff Sgt. Victor M. Cortes III 29 Company E, 703rd Forward Support Batttalion, 3rd Infantry Division Erie, Pennsylvania
Pfc. Ryan R. Cox 19 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division Derby, Kansas Died as a result of a non-hostile gunshot wound he sustained near Najaf, Iraq, on June 15, 2003
Spc. Richard M. Crane 25 Detachment 1, 325th Field Hospital, Army Reserve Independence, Missouri Died of non-combat related injuries in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on February 8, 2005
Cpl. Mark Cridge 25 7 Signal Regiment, Royal Corp of Signals Hometown of record not available Died at Camp Bastion near Lashkar Gah in the southern province of Helmand, Afghanistan, on March 22, 2006. British authorities said initial inquiries into his death did not indicate hostile action.
Spc. Michael J. Crutchfield 21 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment Stockton, California Died of a non-combat related injury in Balad, Iraq, on December 23, 2006 suspected link to Lariam
Pfc. Joseph Cruz 22 Company A, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Whittier, California Died of non-combat related injuries sustained in an accident at Organ-E, Afghanistan, on October 15, 2005.
Sgt. Sirlou C. Cuaresma 25 68th Engineer Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 13th Containment Command Chicago, Illinois Died from a non-combat related cause in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 21, 2006
Pfc. Brian K. Cutter 19 Company B, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Riverside, California Found unconscious on May 13, 2004, and was later pronounced dead in Al Asad, Iraq. The cause of death is under investigation. Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Death of Riverside Marine Pfc. Brian K. Cutter
Governor Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement regarding the death of Pfc. Brian K. Cutter, of Riverside, CA: “Maria and I commend the devotion and bravery Brian displayed in representing his country during this difficult time; his sacrifice will not be forgotten.” Pfc. Cutter, 19, was found unconscious on May 13, and was later pronounced dead in Al Asad, Iraq. The cause of his death is still under investigation. He was assigned to 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Pendleton, CA.
In honor of Pfc. Cutter, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
Capt. Nathan S. Dalley 27 Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division Kaysville, Utah Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound on November 17, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq. A captain is killed by a "non-hostile" gunshot. [Nathan S. Dalley, 27, Kaysville UT]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Capt. Patrick D. Damon 41 240th Engineer Group, Maine Army National Guard Falmouth, Maine Died from a non-combat related cause in Bagram, Afghanistan, on June 15, 2006
CHRIS DANA 23 MONTANA GUNSHOT FORT HARRISON - 3/4/2007It took several months of pushing, but finally, Chris Dana was ready.The 23-year-old veteran of the Iraq war, who served with the 163rd Infantry Battalion, Montana National Guard, agreed to see a counselor for post-combat stress. Members of his family, concerned for months about his change in behavior, believed they were starting to get through to him. Their son and brother promised to seek the help they all knew he so desperately needed.Then Dana canceled the appointment. He began screening his calls. He stopped showing up at drill with the National Guard. He quit his job at Target, cleaned his car and the trailer he shared with a friend. And then, on March 4, he shut himself into his bedroom, put a blanket over his head, and shot himself.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/03/10/news/mtregional/news05.txt
Spc. Shawn M. Davies 22 Battery C, 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Hopewell, Pennsylvania Died of a non-combat related illness in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 8, 2004
Maj. Gloria D. Davis 47 Assigned to the Defense Security Assistance Agency St. Louis, Missouri Died from a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 12, 2006
James E. Dean Iraq Vet Commits Suicide by Inducing Police Action Veteran Slain in Police Standoff Was Devastated by Call-Up, Family Says By Megan GreenwellWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, December 29, 2006; B01 James E. Dean's first Christmas as a married man was supposed to be a joyous affair. The man everyone called Jamie had received a diagnosis of depression, but things were looking up. He frequently told Muriel, his wife of four months, that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had plans to celebrate his 29th birthday two days before the holiday. His parents and grandmother, to whom he was extremely close, lived just a few miles away in the same St. Mary's County town -- perfect for sharing Christmas dinner and opening presents together. But everything good in Dean's life had been overshadowed by a letter he received three weeks earlier. The letter, from U.S. Army headquarters, instructed him to report to Fort Benning, Ga., on Jan. 14. From there, he was likely to be sent to Iraq. Dean had already fought in one war, serving 12 months as a sergeant, leading a small infantry unit on the front lines in Afghanistan. Army records show that he was an excellent soldier, and he had a fistful of awards to prove it: for service in defense of the nation, good conduct and outstanding marksmanship with rifles and grenades. He was such a good soldier, in fact, an Army spokesman said, that the military needed him back just three weeks after his first Christmas with his wife. He couldn't stomach the thought. His post-traumatic stress disorder, which was diagnosed shortly after he returned from Afghanistan, became worse immediately after he received the letter -- and so did his drinking and his rages, family members said. He would break down in front of his wife, telling her over and over that nobody knew what it had been like. "The next time you see me, it's going to be in a body bag," she said he told her as he walked out of their house for the last time.
On Christmas night, Dean drove to his childhood home on the farm where his parents still live. He took up one of his hunting guns and called his family; he said he was going to kill himself. Fourteen agonizing hours later, he was dead -- not by his own bullet but by that of a Maryland state trooper.
http://www.differentdrummercafe.org/iraqvetsuicide.html
ROBERT DECOUTEAUX 24 NY GUNSHOT8/1/2005 Decouteaux died Saturday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He'd been airlifted from his home to a Temple hospital for emergency surgery, but died while doctors tried to save his life.
http://www.kcentv.com/news/local-article-arch.php?nid=7692
Spc. Michael S. Deem 35 Company D, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Rockledge, Florida Died of non-combat related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on February 24, 2005
Spc. Robert W. Defazio 21 23rd Ordnance Company, 101st Ordnance Battalion, 29th Support Group West Babylon, New York Died of non-combat related injuries in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on April 24, 2005
Pvt. Jason L. Deibler 20 Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division Coeburn, Virginia Killed on May 4, 2003, by a non-combat weapon discharge in Kuwait
Ken Dennis (father) His son didn't see 23. On March 21, exactly one year after the first Marine combat deaths in Iraq, the wiry 6-foot-1 soldier who had been a classroom cut-up, a devotee of heavy philosophical tomes and a proud patriot tattooed with the Marine Corps insignia hanged himself from a showerhead in the bathroom of his Renton apartment.
MICHAEL DICKEY 25 11/18/2005
UK
Signaller Paul William Didsbury 18 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) Blackpool, England Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Basra, Iraq, on June 29, 2005
Netherlands
Dijkstra Sergeant Netherlands Royal Dutch Army10/11/06 Non-hostile - suicide
Pfc. James R. Dillon Jr. 19 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division Grove City, Pennsylvania Died of a non-combat related injury in Kuwait on March 13, 2003
Romania
Cpl. Lili Dobre 28 280th Infantry Battalion, Romanian Army Romania Dobre shot himself in the head in a tent at Camp Mittica in Nasiriya, Iraq, on March 14, 2006. He was taken to a hospital in Kuwait City, Kuwait, where he died on March 25, 2006
UK
Pvt. Mark Stephen Dobson 41 B (Green Howards) Company, The Tyne-Tees Regiment, British Territorial Army County Durham, England Dobson was found dead of a non-hostile cause in his quarters at Basra Air Station in Basra, Iraq, on March 28, 2005.
Pfc. Joseph J. Duenas 23 Company C, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101 Airborne Division Mesa, Arizona Died of non-combat related injuries while returning from combat operations in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, on March 30, 2006
Pfc. Amy A. Duerksen 19 Company D, 4th Combat Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 11, 2006
Sgt. Jeannette T. Dunn 44 15th Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Bronx, New York Died of injuries suffered from a non-combat related injury in Taji, Iraq, on November 26, 2006
Pvt. James H. Ebbers 19 551st Military Police Company Tinley Park, Illinois Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Djibouti, Africa, on October 14, 2002
Pfc. Christopher M. Eckhardt 19 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Phoenix, Arizona Died of a non-combat related cause in Taji, Iraq, on May 3, 2006
Sgt. 1st Class Amos C. Edwards, Jr. 41 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard Savannah, Georgia Died of a non-combat related cause in Rutba, Iraq, on February 17, 2006
Staff Sgt. Mark O. Edwards 40 Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard Unicoi, Tennessee Died from a non-combat related cause at his forward operating base near Tuz, Iraq, on June 9, 2005
Spc. Andrew C. Ehrlich 21 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division Mesa, Arizona Died of non-combat related injuries in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, on October 18, 2004
Espaillat Jr. Pedro I Senior Airman Air Force 20 5/15/04 weapon discharge
Cpl. Adam R. Fales 21 Combat Service Support Detachment-21, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Cullman, Alabama Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Falluja, Iraq, on December 16, 2005
Sgt. Andrew K. Farrar Jr. 31 Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Weymouth, Massachusetts Died due to a non-hostile related incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on January 28, 2005
Staff Sgt. Jefferey J. Farrow 28 146th Quartermaster Company, Army Reserve Birmingham, Alabama Died of non-combat related injuries in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on July 19, 2005
Lance Cpl. Dustin R. Fitzgerald 22 Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Huber Heights, Ohio Died in a non-combat vehicle incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on August 18, 2004
Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd he also was taking Lariam before he killed his wife and himself, although the Army said it could not confirm that he was taking the drug.
CHRIS FORCUM 20 OREGON GUNSHOT 12/3/2005 He tried to get help. But he slipped through the cracks in the military’s mental-health system. He applied for veterans’ health benefits, but Call — a combat veteran with years of active and Reserve duty — was told he didn’t qualify. Veterans Affairs has mental-health counselors even for veterans who don’t qualify for health benefits, but Call never got a chance to see one.
On Feb. 3 of this year, he shot himself.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/index.cfm/page/Article/ID/7672
Sgt. Curtis J. Forshey, 22, of Hollidaysburg, Pa., died Tuesday in Homburg. His illness was not combat-related
John "Gunship" Frasso Friends of John Frasso were coming to terms Tuesday a day after the Vietnam War veteran they called "Gunship" took his own life outside the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township.They wondered why Frasso, who enjoyed making children laugh and giving more than he received, shot himself with a .45-caliber handgun. A note apparently written by Frasso, 61, of Nescopeck, explained he was protesting the war in Afghanistan, Luzerne County Coroner Dr. Jack Consalvo said.
http://storiesinamerica.blogspot.com/2006/10/vietnam-vet-commits-suicide-outside-of.html
Pfc. Jason Franco 18 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 11, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Corona, California Died from a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on October 31, 2006
Leslie Frederick Jr 23 July 26, 2005—Army Spc. Leslie Frederick Jr., 23, stationed at Fort Lewis, shot and killed himself at his South Tacoma apartment. Wounded while serving 15 months in Iraq, Frederick had recently been among the first soldiers to receive the Army's new Combat Action Badge, which represents, says Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, "the Warrior Ethos." Frederick, according to relatives, suffered psychologically from the stress of combat. His wife also won a divorce and custody of their child six days before his suicide.
A private drowns in a recreational swimming hole set up for troops in the Euphrates River. [Benjamin L. Freeman, 19, Valdosta GA]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Sgt. Denis J. Gallardo 22 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment St. Petersburg, Florida Died of a non-combat related illness in Tal Afar, Iraq, on November 22, 2005
Garcia, Anthony R. Captain 48 Army 2/17/06 weapon discharge
Spc. James W. Gardner 22 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Glasgow, Kentucky Died of a non-combat related cause in Tal Afar, Iraq, on April 10, 2006
Sgt. Landis W. Garrison 23 333rd Military Police Company, Illinois Army National Guard Rapids City, Illinois Died of non-combat related injuries in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, on April 29, 2004
Sgt. Christopher P. Geiger 38 Headquarters Company, 213th Area Support Group, Pennsylvania Army National Guard Northampton, Pennsylvania Died of a non-combat related cause in Bagram, Afghanistan, on July 9, 2003
2nd Lt. Mark C. Gelina 33 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Moberly, Missouri Died in a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on November 4, 2006
Staff Sgt. Lewis J. Gentry 48 94th Engineer Battalion Detroit, Michigan Died of a non-combat related cause in Mosul, Iraq, on October 26, 2005
UK
Lance Cpl. Darren John George 22 1st Battalion, Royal Anglican Regiment Essex, England Accidentally shot in the head while on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 9, 2002
Spc. David J. Goldberg 20 52nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), 43rd Area Support Group, U.S. Army Reserve Layton, Utah Died of a non-combat injury in Qayyarah, Iraq, on November 26, 2003 A specialist dies from an accidental non-combat gunshot to the chest. [David J. Goldberg, 20, Layton UT]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Curtis Green 25 FORT RILEY 12/6/2004 "Over my dead body are they going to make me go back." "I knew he was having dreams, nightmares," Lisset said. "He would wake up at night really sweaty." On Dec. 6, he showed up for work, his uniform pressed, his boots polished. He sang cadence. That night, he was found hanging in his barracks. Sgt. Curtis Greene, 331st Signal Company, was 25
http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines05/0214-09.htm
Cpl. Jeffrey G. Green 20 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Dallas, Texas Found dead in the Euphrates River in Anbar province, Iraq, on May 5, 2004. The cause of death is under investigation.
UK
Cpl. John Gregory 30 Royal Logistics Corps Catterick, North Yorkshire, England Shot himself after shooting a fellow soldier at the British base at Kabul International Airport on August 17, 2002
Spc. James T. Grijalva 26 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard Burbank, Illinois Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 12, 2005
ERIC RYAN GROSSMAN 22 CALIFORNIA RAN INTO TRAFFIC 4/6/2006
In August, Air Guard Sgt. Dave Guindon, 48, of Merrimack, killed himself a day after returning from combat in Iraq.
DAVID GUINDON 48 MANCHESTER,NH GUNSHOT 8/18/2004 The death of Tech Sgt. David Guindon, 48, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Aug. 18 “was just heartbreaking,” said Caryl Ahern, the readjustment team leader at the Vet Center in Manchester, which offers counseling and other services to veterans and their families.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm/Page/Article/ID/1932
Pfc. Hannah L. Gunterman 20 542nd Maintenance Company, 44th Corps Support Battalion Redlands, California Died of a non-combat related cause in Taji, Iraq, on September 4, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Lt. Col. Marshall A. Gutierrez 41 Area Support Group, Arijan, Kuwait New Mexico Died in Camp Virginia, Kuwait of non-combat related injuries on September 4, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Pfc. Robert A. Guy 26 Company I, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Willards, Maryland Died due to a non-hostile incident near Karma, Iraq, on April 21, 2005
Lance Cpl. Michael J. Halal 22 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Glendale, Arizona Died due to a non-combat related vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq, on September 13, 2004
Spc. David E. Hall 21 805th Military Police Company, 16th Military Police Brigade, U.S. Army Reserve Uniontown, Kansas Died in a non-hostile accident in Kabul, Afghanistan, on February 25, 2004
Staff Sgt. Darren Harmon 44 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, Army Reserve Newark, Delaware Died of a non-combat related cause in Haditha, Iraq, on June 3, 2006
Pfc. Torry D. Harris 21 12th Chemical Company, 1st Infantry Division Chicago, Illinois Died of non-combat related injuries in Tikrit, Iraq, on July 13, 2004
Spc. William S. Hayes III 23 Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division St. Tammany, Louisiana Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on February 5, 2006
Kyle Hemauer 21 Family questions Army ruling that soldier committed suicidePublished Thursday, August 10, 2006 12:08:28 AM Central TimeMILWAUKEE (AP) -- The family of a Chilton soldier who died in Afghanistan last year said it plans to continue its own investigation after a new military report says the soldier committed suicide.
Spc. Jeffrey S. Henthorn 25 24th Transportation Company, 541st Maintenance Battalion, 937th Engineer Group Choctaw, Oklahoma Died of non-combat related injuries in Balad, Iraq, on February 8, 2005What his hometown does not know is that Henthorn, 25, had been sent back to Iraq for a second tour, even though his superiors knew he was unstable and had threatened suicide at least twice, according to Army investigative reports and interviews.When he finally succeeded in killing himself on Feb. 8, 2005, at Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, an Army report says, the work of the M-16 rifle was so thorough that fragments of his skull pierced the barracks ceiling.
Spc. Julie R. Hickey 20 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserve Galloway, Ohio Hickey was evacuated from Bagram, Afghanistan, on June 30, 2004, and died in Landstuhl, Germany, on July 4 of complications from a non-combat related illness.
Melissa Hobart, the East Haven native who collapsed and died in June 2004, had enlisted in the Army in early 2003 after attending nursing school, and initially was told she would be stationed in Alaska, her mother, Connie Hobart, said. When her orders were changed to Iraq, Melissa, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, fell into a depression and sought help at Fort Hood, Texas, according to her mother. "Just before she got deployed, she said she was getting really depressed, so I told her to go talk to somebody," Connie Hobart recalled. "She said they put her on an antidepressant." Melissa, a medic, accepted her obligation to serve, even as her mother urged her to "go AWOL" and come home to Ladson, S.C., where the family had moved. But three months into her tour in Baghdad - and a week before she died - she told Connie she was feeling lost. "She wanted out of there. She said everybody's morale was low," Connie recalled. "She said the people over there would throw rocks at them, that they didn't want them there. It was making her sad." Around the same time, Melissa fainted and fell in her room, she told Connie in an e-mail. She said she had been checked out by a military doctor. The next week, while serving on guard duty in Baghdad, Melissa collapsed and died of what the Army has labeled "natural" causes. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as "undetermined."
Cpl. Benjamin D. Hoeffner 21 324th Psychological Operations Company, Army Reserve Wheat Ridge, Colorado Died of a non-combat related cause in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, on October 25, 2005
Cpl. Paul C. Holter III 21 Battery S, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Corpus Christi, Texas Died due to a non-combat related incident at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, on January 14, 2005
Lance Cpl. Raymond J. Holzhauer 19 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Dwight, Illinois Died of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on March 15, 2007
Pfc. Sean Horn 19 Combat Service Support Group 11, 1st Force Service Support Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Orange, California Died due to a non-hostile incident at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, on June 19, 2004
William Howell 36 10th Special Forces Group El Paso shot himself after following his wife around the yard with a handgun
Spc. Corey A. Hubbell 20 Company B, 46th Engineer Battalion Urbana, Illinois Died from a non-combat related cause in Camden Yards, Kuwait, on June 26, 2003 A specialist dies in Kuwait of breathing difficulties.[Cory A. Hubbell, 20, Urbana IL]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas C. Hull, 41, of Princeton, Ill., died Aug. 2 on board the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Arabian Gulf after being medically evacuated to the carrier for a non-combat related incident. Hull was an operations specialist assigned to the USS Princeton, homeported in San Diego, Calif.
ROBERT HUNT 22 HOUSTON 8/1/2005 On Monday, Hunt was found dead in his apartment by Killeen police. Officers were alerted after Hunt failed to report to work. Police say Hunt's cause of death was listed as asphyxiation.
http://www.kcentv.com/news/local-article-arch.php?nid=7692
A specialist medic suffers a fatal stroke. Craig S. Ivory, 26, Port Matilda PA August 11, 2003
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lt. Cmdr. Edward E. Jack 51 Assigned to Commander, Destroyer Squadron Seven Detroit, Michigan Died of a non-combat related incident aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard on January 29, 2005 A Lutheran minister and military chaplain, Edward E. Jack was a favorite among his shipmates aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard. "Everybody loved him," said his wife, Jean. "He didn't have to go on this trip. He volunteered." Jack, 51, of Detroit, died of a heart attack Jan. 29 on the amphibious assault ship in the waters near Iraq. Before reaching Iraq, Jack's ship was part of the U.S. military's tsunami relief. He served in the Navy for 23 years, with three in the Navy reserves. He was due to retire in June. Navy spokesman Lt. Kyle Raines said Jack was most recently based in San Diego, where he was assigned to Commander Destroyer Squadron Seven. "His role was in comforting the sailors and Marines," said his wife, who noted that her husband also served in the war zone in 2003. "He took it because he liked adventure." Jack also is survived by a daughter, Amanda Roggow, and a son, Todd. "Chaplain Jack exemplified an unwavering commitment to Scripture and to service to the men and women of the sea services," said Cmdr. Mark Steiner, a Lutheran chaplain and a longtime friend of Jack's. "He will be dearly missed."
http://www.legacy.com/chicagotribune/Soldier/Story.aspx?PersonID=3113271
Sgt. Grzegorz Jakoniuk 25 Company B, 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Schiller Park, Illinois Died of non-combat related injuries in Taji, Iraq, on November 30, 2005
Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Jallah Jr. 49 Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division Fayetteville, North Carolina Jallah died due to a non-combat cause on March 28, 2004, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He was medically evacuated from Afghanistan to via Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany on February 16.
A sergeant falls into a hole while running to keep up with friends in Baghdad and suffers a blood clot in her brain that causes a stroke, and she dies of complications nine days later. [Linda C. Jimenez, 39, Brooklyn NY]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
JAMES JENKINS 23 SAN DIEGO10/1/2005 A Marine's fall from Iraq heroism
Thursday, October 13, 2005 By KEVIN SHEA Staff Writer James Jenkins left Hamilton for the Marines in 2001 as a solid young man and citizen, his family and a former coach say. He was a Nottingham High School graduate, a star wrestler and talked of turning his military training into a career with the U.S. Secret Service. But something went terribly wrong. By all accounts, Jenkins was an excellent Marine. He'd served two tours of duty in Iraq with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. And of the many awards that were pinned on his uniform, one was a Bronze Star with a combat V for valor. But the James Jenkins whose picture was plastered all over the news in the San Diego area two weeks ago was described as an AWOL soldier who'd gone on a violent crime spree with a stolen gun. He'd robbed, kidnapped and even tried to sexually assault a woman he had carjacked at gunpoint. Police said he was considered armed and dangerous - and possibly suicidal.
On Sept. 28, with federal agents at his fiancee's front door in Oceanside, Calif., Jenkins shot himself. He died six hours later at the age of 23.
Spc. William A. Jeffries 39 Company D, 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard Evansville, Indiana Died from a sudden illness on March 31, 2003, in Rota, Spain, after he was evacuated from Kuwait
Spc. John P. Johnson 24 Company A, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division Houston, Texas Died of non-combat related injuries on October 22, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq
Pvt. Lavena L. Johnson 19 Headquarters Detatchment, 129th Corps Support Battalion, 101st Support Group, 101st Airborne Division Florissant, Missouri Died of non-combat related injuries in Balad, Iraq, on July 19, 2005
Capt. Gussie M. Jones 41 31st Combat Support Hospital Shreveport, Louisiana A combat surgical nurse, Jones died of a non-combat cause in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 7, 2004
Sgt. 1st Class Michael D. Jones 43 Company A, 133rd Engineer Battalion, Maine Army National Guard Unity, Maine Jones became ill at Fort Drum, New York, just after returning from duty in Iraq, and was taken to a hospital in Syracuse, where he died of a non-combat related illness on March 3, 2005
Sgt. Curt E. Jordan Jr. 25 Company A, 14th Combat Engineer Battalion, 555th Combat Engineer Group Green Acres, Washington Died of non-combat injuries near Bayji, Iraq, on December 28, 2003
ADAM KELLY LAS VEGAS, NV GUNSHOT 6/22/2004 Adam Kelley survived the Persian Gulf War but not the aftermath of his combat experience.For 13 years after the war, he suffered not only from physical problems but mental ones as well.His No. 1 enemy was post-traumatic stress disorder, the illness affecting thousands of veterans in Southern Nevada, including hundreds who have lived through the horrors of death and danger in Iraq and Afghanistan.His mother, Marsha Kelley, said he joined the Army at 21 because he liked being outdoors and he wanted to earn money for college. "He liked hunting, but he didn't like killing," she said in an interview last month.But in the end, he shot and killed himself last year while sitting in his truck behind a sandwich shop not far from his northwest Las Vegas home. His mother blames the Army and the Veterans Administration for not giving him the proper care soon enough.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Sep-25-Sun-2005/news/27253080.html
Philip Kent South Carolina, gunshot
Levi B. Kinchen, 21, Tickfaw LA A specialist dies in his sleep, possibly from heat stress.
8/9/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
David M. Kirchhoff, 31, Anamosa IA 8/8/03
A private first class suffers a fatal heat stroke while driving a truck. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
John K. Klinesmith Jr., 25, Stockbridge GA 6/12/03
A specialist drowns while swimming in a lake in a palace compound. [http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Floyd G. Knighten Jr., 55, Olla LA A sergeant dies from the heat. 8/9/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Spc. Allen J. Knop 22 Company C, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Willowick, Ohio Died of non-combat related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 23, 2005
Cpl. Alexander J. Kolasa 22 704th Main Support Battalion, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division White Lake, Michigan Died on non-combat related causes in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 31, 2006 Cpl.Alexander J. Kolasa 22 Army A soldier from suburban Detroit who died in Iraq served his country with the same pride he had in it while growing up, his mother said Thursday. Cpl. Alexander J. Kolasa, 22, of White Lake Township in Oakland County, died of noncombat causes, the Defense Department announced. Kolasa's mother, Kathy, said in a telephone interview that her son was manning a guard tower north of Baghdad on Wednesday when he suffered a heart attack. "It was very sudden," she said. "From the information I got, he collapsed, they performed CPR for 30 minutes, they electroshocked him. Then they helicoptered him out to a hospital, and that's where he died." Asked if family members had any idea that Kolasa had heart problems, Kathy Kolasa said "absolutely none."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/fmmac2.mm.ap.org/
war2/lastname.php?LastName=Kolasa&SITE=MIDTN&form2=Search
Australia
Pvt. Jacob B. Kovco 25 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment Victoria, Australia Died when accidentally shot himself in the head while cleaning his gun in the Australian security detachment barracks in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 21, 2006
Kreider, Dustin L. Private 19 Army 3/21/04 weapon discharge added 4/1/07 Pvt. Dustin L. Kreider, 19, of Riverton, Kan., died March 21 near Samarra, Iraq during a unit weapon test-firing incident. Kreider was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany.
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/mar2004/a032304a.html
Pfc. Jason D. Johns 19 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division Frankton, Indiana Died of a non-combat related injury in Bagram, Afghanistan, on February 21, 2007
11/18/01 Johnson, Benjamin Electronics Technician 3rd Class 21 US U.S. Navy Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division Non-hostile
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Darrell Jones 22 Guided missile destroyer USS Higgins Wellston, Ohio Died of non-combat related injuries in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates on October 8, 2003
MARY GENTILE LACEY, WA HANGING 5/9/2006
Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Lam, 22, of Queens, N.Y., died Nov. 8 as a result of a non-hostile vehicle incident in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve's 6th Communications Battalion, 4th Force Service Support Group, Brooklyn, N.Y.
James I. Lambert III, 22, Kenbridge VA 7/31/03 A specialist is shot in the head and killed by a stray bullet fired during a local Iraqi celebration. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lt. Cmdr. Jane Elizabeth Lanham 43 Naval Branch Health Clinic, Naval Support Activity, Bahrain Owensboro, Kentucky Died of non-hostile causes in Manama, Bahrain, on September 19, 2006
Sgt. Denise A. Lannaman 46 1569th Transportation Company, New York Army National Guard Bayside, New York Died of non-combat related incident at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on October 1, 2006
Spc. Aaron P. Latimer 26 562nd Engineer Company, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Ennis, Texas Died in Mosul, Iraq, on May 9, 2006
Pfc. Casey M. LaWare 19 Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Redding, California Died April 9, 2005, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, from non-combat related injuries sustained in Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq, on April 6, 2005
Spc. Samuel S. Lee 19 Company B, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division Anaheim, California "Died of non-combat related injuries in Ramadi, Iraq, on March 28, 2005 suicideIn the months before Army Pfc. Samuel Lee, of Anaheim, Calif., killed himself in March 2005, an investigative report says, the 19-year-old had talked to fellow soldiers about a dream in which he tried to kill his sergeant before taking his own life, and of kidnapping, raping and killing Iraqi children. Three times, a soldier recounted in a sworn statement, Lee had pointed his gun at himself and depressed the trigger, stopping just before a round fired.
JEFFREY LEHNER 40 CA GUNSHOT12/1/2005 In December 2005, Jeff Lehner, 40, a former Marine sergeant who served in Afghanistan, shot and killed his elderly father, then killed himself in Santa Barbara County. He had been in counseling for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
http://www.startribune.com/484/story/1079473-p2.html
Staff Sgt. Jason A. Lehto 31 Detachment B, Marine Wing Support Group 47, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserve Mount Clemens, Michigan Died from a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on December 28, 2004
Spc. Cedric L. Lennon 32 Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment West Blocton, Alabama Died of a non-combat related cause in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 24, 2003
Cpl. Timothy D. Lewis 20 Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Died as a result of non-hostile action in Jolo, Republic of the Philippines, on February 15, 2007. His death is under investigation.
Liguori, Carlo Lieutenant Colonel 07/02/0641 Italy Italian Army Not reported yet Non-hostile Not reported yet
STEVEN MICHAEL LOGAN2/28/2005 26 DELAWARE SSgt. Steven Michael Logan memorial website STATESIDE INCIDENT: 1 suicide. A 26-year old Marine who’d personally been reenlisted by the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon R. England, at the peak of Mount Suribachi above Iwo Jima the year before, committed suicide. At the time of his reenlistment, the intelligence clerk in the 3rd Materiel Readiness Battalion said, “The experience was definitely a chance of a lifetime and a great feeling…Not many Marines or Sailors can say they were re-enlisted on top of Mount Suribachi by the Secretary of the Navy. Also, knowing who and what I was representing at such a level was a good feeling in itself. It was definitely an honor to be in that position.”
http://timelines.epluribusmedia.org/timelines/index.php?table_name=tl_ajax
Pfc. Duane E. Longstreth 19 Company B, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division Tacoma, Washington Died from noncombat-related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 7, 2003
Duane E. Longstreth, 19, Tacoma WA A private first class who had survived being accidentally shot in the chest by a machine gun while riding in a truck in May shoots himself in the head with a confiscated revolver after loading it with one bullet and reportedly joking about playing Russian roulette.
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
David L. Loyd, 44, Jackson TN 8/5/03 A staff sergeant dies of a heart attack while on a mission in Kuwait. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
JEFFREY LUCEY 23 BELCHER, MA HANGING 6/22/2004 'Something happened to Jeff' Jeff Lucey returned from Iraq a changed man. Then he killed himself. By Irene Sege, Globe Staff March 1, 2005 BELCHERTOWN -- Less than three weeks before he committed suicide, Jeffrey Lucey, lance corporal in the Marine Reserves, veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, totaled his parents' Nissan Altima.
Pfc. Kevin M. Luna 26 Company B, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division Oxnard, California Died of non-combat related injuries in Muqdadiya, Iraq, on January 27, 2005
Capt. Joe F. Lusk II 25 Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment Reedley, California Died of non-combat related injuries at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, on January 21, 2005
Lance Cpl. Cesar F. Machado-Olmos 20 Company C, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Spanish Fork, Utah Died in a non-combat related vehicle accident near Anbar province, Iraq, on September 13, 2004
Vorn J. Mack, 19, Orangeburg SC August 23, 2003
A private first class drowns after jumping into the Euphrates River to take a swim. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Seaman Apprentice Robert D. Macrum 22 Assigned to the USS Princeton Sugarland, Texas Presumed lost at sea. He was last seen the evening of September 12, 2005, while the ship was underway.
Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Maglione 22 Company B, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Force Service Support Group Lansdale, Pennsylvania Killed by a non-combat weapon discharge at Camp Coyote, Kuwait, on April 1, 2003
Cpl. Jarrod L. Maher 21 Company L, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Imogene, Iowa Died due to a non-hostile gunshot wound at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, on November 12, 2004
Pfc. Pablo Manzano 19 Company B, 54th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, V Corps Heber, California Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Logistical Support Area Dogwood, Iraq, on August 25, 2003 A private first class is killed by a gunshot wound to the chest in a non-combat incident. [Pablo Manzano, 19, Heber CA]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Pvt. Giovanny Maria 19 Company A, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division Camden, New Jersey Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Uzbekistan on November 29, 2001
Italy
Sgt. Salvatore Marracino 27 185th Parachute Regiment, Italian Army San Severo, Foggia Province, Italy Died at a Kuwait City hospital after he accidentally shot himself in the head during target practice at an Italian military base in Nasiriya, Iraq, on March 14, 2005
UK
Capt. Ken Masters 40 Officer Commanding 61 Section, Special Investigation Branch, Royal Military Police England The body of Capt. Masters was found "in his accommodation" in Waterloo Lines, Basra, Iraq, on October 15, 2005, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
Sgt. Radhames Camilo Matos 24 Company A, 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Carolina, Puerto Rico Died of non-combat related injuries in Taji, Iraq, on January 7, 2006
ANDRE MCDANIEL 40 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO GUNSHOT 9/1/2004
Spc. Dustin K. McGaugh 20 Headquarters Battery, 17th Field Artillery Brigade Derby, Kansas Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Balad, Iraq, on September 30, 2003 A specialist is killed by friendly fire. [Dustin K. McGaugh, 20, Derby KS]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Hospitalman Joshua McIntosh 22 A Navy corpsman assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment Kingman, Arizona Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound on June 26, 2003, in Karbala, Iraq
BRIAN MCKEEHAN 37 FORT EUSTIS HANGING 10/12/04 AP: Soldier Just Back From Iraq Hangs Himself In Jail Police say Brian McKeehan hanged himself with a bedsheet early Saturday in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail in James City, about 12 hours after being arrested on a charge of assaulting his wife at their York County home.
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/861771.shtml
Death of Episcopal priest, Vietnam war vet, ruled suicide The Associated Press WENATCHEE, Wash. -- The shooting death of an Episcopal priest, a severely wounded Vietnam war veteran who had grown increasingly distressed by the war in Iraq, has been ruled a suicide. The finding in the case of the Rev. Alan Robb McLean, 62, rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and a former Pillsbury Co. international finance expert, was issued this week by Chelan County Coroner Dr. Gina M. Fino. McLean, who held previous church positions in Arkansas and Virginia, died in surgery several hours after being found wounded in his office Friday. He was believed to be the source of a 911 call from the office in which only heavy breathing could be heard shortly after the shooting, and police said at the time that the single chest wound appeared to be self-inflicted.
http://www.vietnamveteranministers.org/mcleanmemorial.htm
Although he did not die in Iraq or Afghanistan, he did as a result of them and Vietnam. We tend to forget that both occupations bring back memories of combat that can no longer be pushed to the back of the mind.
A private dies after collapsing from a heat stroke in mid June. [Robert L. McKinley, 23, Kokomo IN] 7/8/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Sgt. 1st Class Otie J. McVey 53 706th Transportation Company, Army Reserve Oak Hill, West Virginia McVey was medically evacuated from Baghdad, Iraq, on September 23, 2004, for treatment of a non-combat related illness. He died on November 7, 2004, in Beaver, West Virginia.
Cpl. Kevin Megeney 25 1st Battalion, The Nova Scotia Highlanders New Glasgow, Nova Scotia Died of a nonhostile gunshot wound at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, on March 6, 2007
Sgt. Benjamin E. Mejia 25 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Salem, Massachusetts Died of non-combat related causes in Marez, Iraq, on May 31, 2006
Staff Sgt. Dennis P. Merck 38 878th Engineer Battalion, Georgia Army National Guard Evans, Georgia Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 20, 2005
Dylan Meyer 20 Augusta GA Before signing off his Web page on MySpace.com on Monday, Army Pvt. Dylan Meyer typed a farewell note to the world. "Jesus, I don't know if any of you have heard what has happened to me yet, but I just want to remind you not to be sad. Laugh, that's what lifes about," The next morning, Meyer was found dead in the Army barracks at Fort Gordon in Georgia. He was 20.
Jeanne "Linda" Michel, a Navy medic "She came home last month to her husband and three kids (ages 11, 5, and 4), delighted to be back in her suburban home of Clifton Park in upstate New York. Michel, 33, would be discharged from the Navy in a few weeks, finishing her five years of duty. Two weeks after she got home, she shot and killed herself.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MIT20061119&articleId=3909"
Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark 18 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division Kettle River, Minnesota who was found shot in a chapel at Camp Victory in Kuwait You see, the US Marines declared the death of Pfc Milczark a suicide, however, there is one small detail that really bothers the town and the family . . . the one gunshot that killed the marine was to the back of his head. No one who knew Pfc Milczark personally believes that he could commit suicide. His family has been pressing for information to no avail. They have contacted their local congressperson with no results and they are now concerned that the truth may never be known. What really happened to Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark?
http://www.aztlan.net/us_marine_suicide.htm
Pfc. Bruce Miller Jr. 23 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Orange, New Jersey Bruce Miller Jr.A Jersey soldier dies in Mosul (The Star-Ledger)A 23-year-old soldier from Orange has been killed in Iraq from a noncombat gunshot wound, but the military is not disclosing any details of his death while it is under investigation
Keman L. Mitchell, 24, Hilliard FL] 5/26/03 A sergeant who had written to his father complaining of the heat drowns after jumping into a seven-foot-deep body of water. [http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Spc. Damien M. Montoya 21 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Holbrook, Arizona Died from a non-combat related cause in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 9, 2006
Pfc. Keith J. Moore 28 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division San Francisco, California Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 14, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Petty Officer 3rd Class David J. Moreno 26 Naval Medical Center San Diego, 4th Marine Division Detachment Gering, Nebraska Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Hamishiyah, Iraq on July 17, 2003 A petty officer third class Navy medic is accidentally shot in the face and killed while marines he is assigned to are cleaning and putting away their weapons. [David J. Moreno, 26, Gering NE]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Pvt. Reece D. Moreno 19 92nd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Prescott, Arizona Died of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident in Balad, Iraq, on November 24, 2006
Spc. Scott J. Mullen 22 Company B, 5th Battalion, 4th Psychological Operations Group Tucson, Arizona Died of a non-combat related accident in Makati City, Philippines, on October 13, 2005.
Lt. Col. Charles E. Munier 50 Wyoming Army National Guard Wheatland, Wyoming Died at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on June 12, 2006, from a non-combat related cause which occured in Kabul, Afghanistan, on June 5, 2006
Sgt. James P. Musack 23 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Riverside, Iowa Died of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident in Samarra, Iraq, on November 21, 2006
Sgt. Dimitri Muscat 21 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Aurora, Colorado Died of non-combat related injuries in Balad, Iraq on February 24, 2006
Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Nass 21 Company E, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force Franklin, Wisconsin Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound at Camp Blessing, Afghanistan, on September 3, 2005
Spc. Joshua M. Neusche 20 203rd Engineer Battalion, Missouri Army National Guard Montreal, Missouri Died from a non-combat cause in Homburg Hospital, Germany on July 12, 2003 A specialist dies of pneumonia after falling ill the previous month. [Joshua M. Neusche, 20, Montreal MO]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
2/10/07 Nguyen, Long N. Sergeant 27 US U.S. Army 141st Brigade Support Battalion Non-Hostile - non-combat related wound
Sgt. 1st Class Tung M. Nguyen, 38, a Special Forces communications sergeant, was evacuated and pronounced dead at a combat support hospital in Baghdad. TRACY, Calif. -- An Army Special Forces soldier died of a gunshot wound during combat operations on Nov. 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, Army officials said Friday. According to the U.S. Army, he may have been hit by friendly fire. The Army is currently investigating Nguyen's death.
Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves took the anti-malarial medication during his tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2002. Two days after coming home, he killed his wife and himself.
UK
Sgt. John Nightingale 32 217 Transport Squadron, 150 Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, Territorial Army Leeds, England Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Shaibah, Iraq, on September 23, 2003
JOSHUA OMVIG 22 GRUNDY CENTER, IA GUNSHOT 12/22/2005 Rep. Boswell, a Vietnam veteran, last month proposed a new suicide-prevention program for veterans. The “Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act,” H.R. 5771, now has 77 sponsors in Congress. It would set up a VA program to screen and monitor veterans for suicide risk factors. Nearly one of every five returning Iraq veterans reported a mental-health problem, according to an Army study published in March. And nearly one in 10 was diagnosed with Post-tramatic Stress Disorder.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/index.cfm/page/Article/ID/7672
Ortega, Elijah M. Private Marine 19 9/26/05 weapon discharge
Sgt. Larry W. Pankey Jr. 34 467th Engineer Battalion, Army Reserve Morrison, Colorado Died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. of non-combat related injuries sustained in Balad, Iraq, on September 23, 2005
Sgt. Kenya A. Parker 26 Headquarters, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Fairfield, Alabama Died of a non-combat related medical condition in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 30, 2005
Pfc. Kristian E. Parker 23 Company C, 205th Engineer Battalion, Louisiana Army National Guard Slidell, Louisiana Died from non-combat related injuries at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, on September 29, 2003
Parker, Vincent Engineman 1st Class 38 US U.S. Navy 11/18/01 The Spruance-class destroyer USS Peterson Non-hostile Persian Gulf Persian Gulf Preston Mississippi
Seaman Pablito Pena Briones Jr. 22 1st Marine Division Detachment Anaheim, Calfornia Died of a non-hostile gun shot wound in Falluja, Iraq, on December 28, 2004
Spc. Pedro Pena 35 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Miami, Florida Died in a non-hostile incident in Kuwait on November 7, 2002
MICHAEL PELKEY FORT SILL, OK GUNSHOT 11/5/2004Capt. Michael Jon Pelkey However, it would become tragically obvious that Michael's worries were not over. Michael met with the therapist on a Monday; the couple celebrated their third wedding anniversary on a Tuesday; and on Friday, November 5, 2004, Stefanie came home to find her husband laying on the bed, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=1154&issueID=79
Sgt. Theodore L. Perreault 33 Company B, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts Army National Guard Webster, Massachusetts Died of non-combat related injuries in Camp Bulkeley, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on December 23, 2003
Spc. Alyssa R. Peterson 27 Company C, 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, 101st Airborne Division Flagstaff, Arizona Died of wounds received from a non-combat weapons discharge on September 15, 2003, in Telafar, Iraq suicide A specialist is killed by a non-combat gunshot wound to the head. [Alyssa R. Peterson, 27, Flagstaff AZ]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lance Cpl. Steven L. Phillips 27 Company I, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Chesapeake, Virginia Died from a non-hostile vehicle accident during combat operations against enemy forces near Qaim, Iraq, on February 7, 2006
Chief Warrant Officer Paul J. Pillen 28 Detachment 3, Company A, 249th Aviation Battalion, South Dakota Army National Guard Keystone, South Dakota Died of a non-combat related cause in Salwa, Kuwait, on October 17, 2005
Sgt. Foster Pinkston 47 Headquarters Company, 878th Engineer Battalion, Georgia Army National Guard Warrenton, Georgia Died of a non-combat related illness at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, on September 16, 2003
Pfc. Derek J. Plowman 20 1st Battalion, 142nd Fires Brigade, Arkansas Army National Guard Everton, Arkansas Died from a gun shot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 20, 2006
Spc. Justin W. Pollard 21 G Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Foothill Ranch, California Died as a result of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 30, 2003 A specialist is shot to death when a rifle accidentally goes off . [Justin W. Pollard, 21, Foothill Ranch CA]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lance Cpl. Christopher M. Poston 20 Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Glendale, Arizona Died from a non-hostile accident in Hit, Iraq, on October 17, 2005
Pfc. David L. Potter 22 Company B, 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division Johnson City, Tennessee Died of non-combat related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 7, 2004 In another case, Pfc. David L. Potter was kept in the war zone despite a diagnosis of anxiety and depression, a suicide attempt and a psychiatrist's recommendation that he be separated from the Army. Potter, 22, told friends that he believed the recommendation had been overruled, leading to a deepening of his depression, a fellow soldier said. On Aug 7, 2004 - 10 days after the psychiatrist recommended he be sent home - Potter took a gun from under another soldier's bed and killed himself.
Pvt. Joshua F. Powers 21 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Skiatook, Oklahoma Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on February 24, 2006 Powers, Joshua F. - [Skiatook]
US Army - PrivatePvt. Joshua Powers died in Baghdad, Iraq from a non-combat related injury. 21 year old Joshua Powers, who had only been in Iraq two weeks, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
http://kotv.com/main/projects/homefronttribute.asp
Sgt. 1st Class Daniel J. Pratt 48 211th Maintenance Company, Ohio Army National Guard Youngstown, Ohio Died from a non-combat related cause in Nasiriya, Iraq, on November 3, 2005
Pfc. Tina M. Priest 20 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Austin, Texas "Died from a non-combat related injury in Taji, Iraq, on March 1, 2006 She was discovered dead in her room March 1, and investigators concluded that she shot herself in the upper chest with an M-16 rifle. Rape charges against the soldier she accused were dropped a few weeks after her death.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Profitt 23 USS Deyo Charlestown, Indiana Died of a non-combat related injury while in the Red Sea on March 17, 2003
Spain
Sgt. Luis Puga Gandara 29 Spanish Army Spain Died after he was accidentally shot at the Spanish military base in Diwaniya, Iraq, on October 26, 2003
Cpl. Richard O. Quill III 22 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Roswell, Georgia Died of a non-hostile cause in Anbar province, Iraq, on February 1, 2007
Spc. Tamarra J. Ramos 24 3rd Armor Medical Company, Medical Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Quakertown, Pennsylvania Died of non-combat related injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on October 1, 2003 A specialist medic dies of cancer. [Tamarra J. Ramos, 24, Quakertown PA]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Note:DOD listed as "injury" not illness
Spc. David J. Ramsey 27 47th Combat Support Hospital, 62nd Medical Brigade Tacoma, Washington Medically evacuated from Iraq on August 24 and died from a non-combat related incident on September 7, 2006, in Spanaway, Washington. The incident is under investigation.
Pfc. Joshua A. Ramsey 19 Headquarters Detachment, 95th Military Police Battalion Defiance, Ohio Died of non-combat related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on on December 12, 2004
Staff Sgt. Jose C. Rangel 43 1106th Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot, California Army National Guard Fresno, California Died in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, of non-combat related injuries on January 23, 2005
Capt. Gregory A. Ratzlaff 36 Medium Helicopter Squadron 166, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Olympia, Washington Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound at Forward Operating Base Duke near Najaf, Iraq, on August 3, 2004
ANDRES RAYA 19 CALIFORNIA SBC 1/1/2005
Spc. Omead H. Razani, 19, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Aug. 27 2004 in Habbaniyah, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries. Razani was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Greaves, Korea. The incident is under investigation.
UK
Pvt. Christopher Gordon Rayment 22 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment London, England Died in an non-hostile accident at al Amara, Iraq, on August 4, 2004
Spc. Omead H. Razani 19 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Los Angeles, California Died of non-combat related injuries in Habbaniya, Iraq, on August 27, 2004
Saxxon Rech 20 July 28, 2005—Marine veteran Saxxon Rech, 20, given an early honorable discharge from the service in February, killed girlfriend Renee DiLorenzo, 18. DiLorenzo, who'd recently enlisted in the Marines, was shot in the back at Rech's family home in Everson, Whatcom County; Rech then turned the shotgun on himself. A motive is unknown. Rech joined the Marine Corps in November 2003, and officials are so far uncertain why he was discharged after just 16 months, or whether he saw combat in Iraq, where Marines from his regiment have been killed in action.
Gunnery Sgt. Edward T. Reeder 32 Headquarters and Service Battalion, 1st Force Service Support Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Camp Verde, Arizona Died in a non-combat related vehicle incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on August 21, 2004
Sean C. Reynolds, 25, East Lansing MI 5/3/03
A sergeant is killed when he falls off a ladder and his M-4 rifle accidentally discharges. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
JESSICA RICH 23 COLORADO CAR 1/16/2007 Jessica Rich, 24, who served in the Army Reserve, was killed at 10:25 p.m. Thursday when her 1996 Volkswagen Jetta smashed head-on into a 2003 Chevy Suburban. Four people in the Suburban were taken to Colorado Springs hospitals, although none of their injuries was life-threatening. They were on their way from Hobbs, N.M., to Denver. You can the video of her on this site. The Last Time I Saw Jessica. Listen to what she had to say and then know, she was paying the price of combat.
January 31, 2003 SALEM, OR - The Oregon Military Department today announced that Private Chad Ritchie, 21, of Medford, died of apparently self-inflicted wounds. Ritchie, in collaboration with fellow National Guard members Aaron Andrew St. James, 25, and Andrew Lee Patterson, 23, had apparently been involved in a recent string of violent criminal acts in the Medford area. All of the soldiers were assigned as members of the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry, Oregon Army National Guard. They had recently returned from the battalion’s assignment in Sinai, Egypt, as peacekeepers along the Egyptian-Israeli border. Ritchie and Patterson had been sent home early from Sinai due to disciplinary action.
Staff Sgt. Milton Rivera-Vargas 55 1st Battalion, 296th Infantry Regiment, Puerto Rico Army National Guard Boqueron, Puerto Rico Died of a non-combat related cause while on guard duty in Kalsu, Iraq, on December 8, 2005
Staff Sgt. Timothy J. Roark 29 4th Battalion, 123rd Aviation Regiment Houston, Texas Died in Balad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury on October 2, 2005
Staff Sgt. William T. Robbins 31 Headquarters Company, 39th Infantry Brigade, Arkansas Army National Guard North Little Rock, Arkansas Died of non-combat related injuries in Taji, Iraq, on February 10, 2005
Lt. Cmdr. Thomas L. Robinson 38 Executive officer, guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton Kingston, Massachusetts Robinson was found dead in his stateroom of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound while the destroyer was making a port call in Bahrain on October 23, 2002.
Staff Sgt. Alan L. Rogers 49 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, Utah Army National Guard Kearns, Utah Died of non-combat related injuries in Bagram, Afghanistan, on September 29, 2004
Rashid Sahib, 22, Brooklyn NY 5/18/03
A specialist is fatally shot in the chest by another soldier cleaning his gun. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lance Cpl. Efrain Sanchez Jr. 26 Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Port Chester, New York Died in a non-hostile incident at Camp Blue Diamond, in Ramadi, Iraq, on July 17, 2005
Staff Sgt. Barry Sanford Sr. 46 Headquarters Company, 101st Support Group, 101st Airborne Division Aurora, Colorado Died of a gunshot wound received in a non-combat incident on July 7, 2003, in Balad, Iraq
Pfc. Jason D. Scheuerman 20 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Lynchburg, Virginia Died of non-combat related injuries in Muqdadiya, Iraq, on July 30, 2005 Jason was pulled off missions with his fellow soldiers, assigned menial jobs around the barracks and given his gun back. He used the weapon three weeks later to become the 1,797th U.S. military fatality of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Gunshot
Spc. Matthew E. Schneider 23 141st Signal Battalion, 1st Armored Division Gorham, New Hampshire Died of a non-combat related cause in Ramadi, Iraq, on August 28, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Capt. James A. Shull 32 Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division West Covina, California Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 17, 2003
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2003.11.html
Spc. Christian C. Schulz 20 Company C, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Colleyville, Texas Died from non-combat injuries in Baquba, Iraq, on July 11, 2003 A specialist is killed by a "non-hostile" firearms discharge. [Christian C. Schulz, 20, Colleyville TX]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Jonathan Schulze 25, Minnesota, Hanging Told to wait, a Marine dies
VA care in spotlight after Iraq war veteran's suicide By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff February 11, 2007 STEWART, Minn. -- It took two years of hell to convince him, but finally Jonathan Schulze was ready. Pfc. Benjamin C. Schuster 21 2nd Battalion, 101st Cavalry Regiment, New York Army National Guard Williamsville, New York Died from a gunshot wound in Ramadi, Iraq, on February 25, 2006 On the morning of Jan. 11, Jonathan, an Iraq war veteran with two Purple Hearts, neatly packed his US Marine Corps duffel bag with his sharply creased clothes, a framed photo of his new baby girl, and a leather-bound Bible and headed out from the family farm for a 75-mile drive to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Cloud, Minn. Four days later, on Jan. 16, he wrapped a household extension cord around his neck, tied it to a beam in the basement, and hanged himself.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/11/told_to_wait_a_marine_dies/
Master Sgt. David A. Scott 51 445th Communications Flight Squadron, 445th Mission Support Group, 445th Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve Union, Ohio Died as a result of a non-hostile cause in Doha, Qatar on July 20, 2003 A master sergeant dies of a brain aneurysm in Doha, Qatar. [David A. Scott, 51, Union, OH]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Spc. Stephen M. Scott 21 Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Lawton, Oklahoma Died as a result of a non-hostile gunshot wound on August 23, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq A cook specialist is killed by a "non-hostile" gunshot wound. [Stephen M. Scott, 21, Lawton OK]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Spc. Dennis L. Sellen Jr. 20 1st Battalion, 185th Infantry Regiment Newhall, California Died of non-combat related injuries in Umm Qasr, Iraq, on February 11, 2007
JEREMY SEELEY 28 KY POISONING 1/13/2004 The Jeremy Seeley who went off to war was a man his grandfather remembers as tender-hearted. When Specialist Seeley returned from Iraq, he could not bring himself to tell his mother he was home, or even to hear her voice, leaving two disjointed messages on her answering machine but no contact number.
On January 13 he walked out of the 101st Airborne base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, checked into a motel room, and put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. The police discovered his body four days later, along with containers of household poison. Seeley was 28.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1180025,00.html
Lance Cpl. Darin T. Settle 23 Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Henley, Missouri Died from a non-hostile motor vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq, on April 14, 2006
1st Lt. Neale M. Shank, 25, of Fort Wayne, Ind., died Mar. 31 in Baghdad, Iraq, from a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation. Shank was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
Pfc. Adam R. Shepherd 21 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Somerville, Ohio Died of a non-combat related illness in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 17, 2006
Lt. Col. Anthony L. Sherman 43 304th Civil Affairs Brigade, Army Reserves Pottstown, Pennsylvania Found unconscious in his living quarters and died after cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other attempts to revive him were unsucessful on August 27, 2003, in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait
STEPHEN SHERWOOD 35 FORT COLLINS, CO GUNSHOT FORT COLLINS, Colo. 8/1/2005 -- A Colorado soldier who just returned from duty in Iraq fatally shot his wife and then himself, according to a Fort Carson spokesman. Pfc. Stephen S. Sherwood, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, was with his wife at their home near Fort Collins when the shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon. The Larimer County SWAT unit was called to the home at 335 Bradley Drive around 3:45 p.m. after a report of shots being fired.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4811407/detail.html
Capt. James A. Shull 32 Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division West Covina, California Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 17, 2003 A captain is killed while checking community center supplies when another soldier's rifle accidentally goes off and hits him in the head. [James A. Shull, 32, Kirkland WA]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Pfc. Kenneth L. Sickels 20 Weapons Compnay, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division Apple Valley, California Died due to a non-combat related incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on September 27, 2004
Pfc. Thomas C. Siekert 20 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Lovelock, Nevada Died of non-combat related injuries in Bayji, Iraq, on December 6, 2005
A sergeant dies of a heat-related seizure. Leonard D. Simmons, 33, New Bern NC 8/6/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Pfc. Charles M. Sims 18 549th Military Police Company, 3rd Military Police Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Miami, Florida Drowned in a swimming pool in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 3, 2003 A private first class chokes on a piece of candy and drowns in a swimming pool during rec time. [Charles M. Sims, 18, Miami FL
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Spc. Channing G. Singletary 30 122nd Support Center, Georgia Army National Guard Sylvester, Georgia Died from a non-combat-related cause in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 23, 2006
Pfc. Steven F. Sirko 20 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Portage, Indiana "Died of non-combat related injuries in Muqdadiya, Iraq, on April 17, 2005 Four days later, Sirko, a 20-year-old medic, injected himself with vecuronium, an anesthetic that causes muscular paralysis, and died of an accidental overdose, according to what the military has told Lipford.
Petty Officer 3rd Class David Sisung 21 Assigned to aircraft carrier USS Nimitz Phoenix, Arizona Died of a non-combat related injury on June 6, 2003, while in the Persian Gulf A petty officer third class dies of a heart attack. [David Sisung, 21, Phoenix AZ]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Lance Cpl. Richard P. Slocum 19 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Saugus, California Died in a non-combat related vehicle accident near Abu Gharib, Iraq, on October 24, 2004
Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Jerome Sloss a member of the South Carolina National Guard, seemed fine when he was serving in Iraq. But when he came home to his job as a state trooper, he had trouble concentrating. Sloss committed suicide on May 27, 2004 -- five weeks after his return.
Pfc. Corey L. Small 20 502nd Military Intelligence Company, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment East Berlin, Pennsylvania Died from a non-combat related cause in Iraq on July 2, 2003 suicide "shot himself in the head while waiting to use the phone." from East Berlin PA
Lt. Col. Albert E. Smart 41 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, Army Reserve San Antonio, Texas Died of a non-combat related illness in Doha, Qatar, on May 28, 2005
Scotland
Pvt. Jason Smith 32 52nd Lowland Regiment, Territorial Army Hawick, Scotland Died of a non-hostile cause in southern Iraq on August 13, 2003
Spc. Jonathan K. Smith 19 115th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Atlanta, Georgia Died of a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 11, 2007
ALEXIS SOTO-RAMIREZ 42 WALTER REED HANGING 1/12/2004 Then there's the case of Spc. Alexis Soto-Ramirez, who served with a unit of the Puerto Rico National Guard. Suffering from chronic back pain that became excruciating during the war, Soto-Ramirez was diagnosed with "psychiatric symptoms" that were "combat-related." He was sent to Walter Reed's "Ward 54"--the in-patient psychiatric unit--where he was supposed to get the best care the military had to offer. Instead, less than a month later, he was dead--having hanged himself with the sash from his bathrobe.
http://www.counterpunch.org/colson06062005.html
Pfc. Kenneth C. Souslin 21 Company C, 440th Signal Battalion, 22nd Signal Brigade, V Corps Mansfield, Ohio Died of non-combat related injuries at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, on December 15, 2003
Staff Sgt. Gina R. Sparks 35 115th Field Hospital, Warrior Brigade Drury, Montana Died of a non-combat related incident on October 4, 2004, in Fort Polk, Louisiana
Sgt. 1st Class William C. Spillers 39 230th Finance Detachment Terry, Mississippi Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on February 17, 2007
Derek A. Stanley 20 Army SPC 6/5/06 non-combat Afghanistan US Army - Cpl.
Corporal Derek Stanley died in Salerno, Afghanistan from a non-combat related cause. 20 year old Derek Stanley was assigned to the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. The incident surrounding his death remains under investigation.
Sgt. 1st Class Douglas C. Stone 49 96th Regional Readiness Command Taylorsville, Utah Died of wound suffered from a non-combat related incident in Iraq on March 11, 2007 Sgt. 1st Class Douglas C. Stone, 49, of Taylorsville, Utah, died Mar. 11 in Iraq of wounds suffered from a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation.
Maj. Michael D. Stover 43 Marine Wing Support Squadron-371, Marine Wing Support Group-37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Mansfield, Ohio Died of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on June 3, 2006
Spc. Thomas R. Stroh 21 strangled his wife, Brittany Stroh, 17, and son Dylan Stroh, 2, at their Fort Lewis home. He later committed suicide driving head-on into a semi truck in Oregon.
Spc. Paul J. Sturino 21 Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division Rice Lake, Wisconsin Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in an area south of Mosul, Iraq, on September 22, 2003
A specialist is accidentally shot to death by another soldier in a non-combat incident. [Paul J. Sturino, 21, Rice Lake WI] 9/22/03
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
SGT. JOSEPH SUELL IRAQ OVERDOSE 6/16/2003
Army SPC 24 Lufkin TX overdose bottle of Tylenol Sgt. Joseph D. Suell 24 Headquarters and Service Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment Lufkin, Texas Died from a non-combat related cause on June 16, 2003, in Todjie, Iraq suicide
Spc. Narson B. Sullivan 21 411th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade North Brunswick, New Jersey Killed by a non-combat weapon discharge in Iraq on April 25, 2003
Sgt. Thomas J. Sweet II 23 Service Battery, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division Bismarck, North Dakota Died of a non-combat gunshot wound in Ramadi, Iraq, on November 27, 2003 A specialist dies in his barracks from a gunshot wound to the head from his rifle. [Thomas Sweet II, 23, Bismarck
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Sgt. Nathaniel T. Swindell 24 Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division Bronx, New York Died of a non-combat related injury in Mosul, Iraq, on January 15, 2005
Cmdr. Adrian B. Szwec 43 Assigned to Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Chicago, Illinois Died in a non-combat related incident in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on April 12, 2004
Sgt. Joseph M. Tackett 22 Battery A, 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Whitehouse, Kentucky Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 23, 2005
Pfc. Nickolas A. Tanton 24 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division San Antonio, Texas Died of non-combat related injuries in Kirkuk, Iraq, on February 13, 2007
Sgt. Nimo W. Tauala 29 209th Aviation Support Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Honolulu, Hawaii Died of a non-combat related injury in Muqdadiya, Iraq, on March 17, 2007 Sgt. Nimo W. Tauala, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died March 17 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. His death is under investigation. Tauala was assigned to the 209th Aviation Support Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Master Sgt. Thomas R. Thigpen Sr. 52 Headquarters Company, 151st Signal Battalion, 228th Signal Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard Greenville, South Carolina Died of a non-combat injury at Camp Virginia, Kuwait (north of Kuwait City), on March 16, 2004
Ukraine
Lt. Col. Oleh Tikhonov 38 73rd Separate Motorized Battalion, 7th Separate Motorized Brigade Novgorod Seversky, Ukraine Died in a non-hostile automobile accident in Wasit Province, Iraq, on September 29, 2004
Master Sgt. Timothy Toney 37 Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Manhattan, New York, New York Died due to a non-combat related incident at Camp Wolverine, Kuwait, on March 27, 2004
Spc. Juan M. Torres 25 453rd Transportation Company, U.S. Army Reserve Houston, Texas Died of non-combat related injuries in Bagram, Afghanistan, on July 12, 2004
Sgt. Michael L. Tosto 24 Company A, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division Apex, North Carolina Died from a non-combat related cause at Camp Wolf, Kuwait, on June 17, 2003 A sergeant dies of pneumonia. [Michael L. Tosto, 24, Apex NC]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer A. Valdivia 27 Naval Support Activity, Bahrain Cambridge, Illinois Valdivia was found dead on January 16, 2007. Valdivia’s death was a non-combat related incident in Bahrain, which is located within the designated hostile fire zone. Valdivia’s death is under investigation.
Sgt. Melissa Valles 26 Company B, 64th Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Eagle Pass, Texas Died of a non-combat gunshot wound on July 9, 2003, in Balad, Iraq A sergeant is killed by a non-combat gunshot wound to the stomach. [Melissa Valles, 26, Eagle Pass TX]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
ANDREW VELEZ 22 AFGHANISTAN GUNSHOT Spc. Andrew Velez 22 Corps Support Battalion, Theater Support Command Lubbock, Texas Committed suicide by shooting himself in Sharona, Afghanistan, on July 25, 2006. His brother, Spc. Jose A. Velez, was killed in Iraq in November 2004. Spc. Jose A. Velez 23 Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Lubbock, Texas Killed when his unit came under fire while clearing an enemy strongpoint in Falluja, Iraq, on November 13, 2004. His brother, Spc. Andrew Velez, committed suicide by shooting himself in Afghanistan in August 2006.
Sgt 1st Class Ruben J. Villa Jr. 36 Area Support Group, Coalition Land Forces Component Command El Paso, Texas Died from a non-combat related cause in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on August 18, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Spc. Eric Vizcaino 21 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division New Mexico Died of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident in Balad, Iraq, on November 20, 2006
Staff Sgt. Mark A. Wall 27 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Alden, Iowa Died from a non-combat related cause in Mosul, Iraq, on April 27, 2006. The incident is under investigation.
Pvt. Jason M. Ward 25 Company A, 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division Tulsa, Oklahoma Died of a non-combat injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 22, 2003 A private dies shortly before a scheduled return to the U.S. for medical treatment of intestinal and stomach problems. [Jason M. Ward, 25, Tulsa OK]
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/4000
Walsh, Scott Jeffrey Master Corporal 32 Canada Canadian Army 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry08/09/06 Non-hostile - gunshot wound Kandahar Afghanistan
Airman 1st Class Carl Jerome Ware Jr. 22 15th Security Forces Squadron, 15th Mission Support Group, 15th Airlift Wing Smyrna, Delaware Died from a non-combat related cause at Camp Bucca, Iraq, on July 1, 2006
Lance Cpl. Kristopher C. Warren 19 4th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Resaca, Georgia Died from a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on November 9, 2006 During a one-act play his high school drama group was performing at a competition, Kristopher C. Warren didn't let the fact that he only had a few lines spoil his time. "Every time it came to his lines, he'd just belt it out," friend John Lee said. "He really stood out from everybody else because he wanted to be heard. He wanted to stand out. He didn't want to be in the shadows."Warren, 19, of Resaca, Ga., died Nov. 9 from a non-hostile gunshot in Anbar province. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Chattanooga. "He could talk to anyone. He was such a good kid, so full of life," said social studies teacher Justin Timms. He coached the soccer team that Warren joined his senior year to help him get in shape for the Marines.Nothing embarrassed him, not even the teasing of some of his bandmates after he became drum major. "He knew who he was," said Laura McElrath, a family friend. On his MySpace page, he posted answers to a list of questions, including, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer: "I'm already that person." He is survived by his parents, Joe Warren and his wife Becky, and Robin Patterson and her husband Tim. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/casualties/2006-12-06-november-glimpses_x.htm
Sgt. 1st Class Mark C. Warren 44 Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Armor Cavalry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard La Grande, Oregon Died of non-combat related injuries at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, on January 31, 2005 suicide
Lance Cpl. Cody G. Watson 21 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Oxford, Alabama Died from a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on December 6, 2006
Cpl. Justin J. Watts 20 Headquarters & Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Crownsville, Maryland Died from an apparent non-hostile gunshot wound in Haditha, Iraq, on January 14, 2006
Col. Theodore S. Westhusing 44 A U.S. Military Academy professor serving with the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq Dallas, Texas Died of non-combat related injuries in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 5, 2005 6/1/2005 COLONEL TED WESTHUSING 44 BIAP, IRAQ GUNSHOT I am Sullied-No More Faced with the Iraq war's corruption, Col. Ted Westhusing chose death before dishonor by Robert Bryce Ted Westhusing was a true believer. And that was his fatal flaw. A colonel in the U.S. Army, Westhusing had a good job teaching English at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was a devout Catholic who went to church nearly every Sunday. He had a wife and three young children. He didn’t have to go to Iraq. But Westhusing was such a believer that he volunteered for what he thought was a noble cause. At West Point, Westhusing sought out people who opposed the war in an effort to change their minds. “He absolutely believed that this was a just war,” said one officer who was close to him. “He was wholly enthusiastic about this mission.” His tour of duty in Iraq was to last six months. About a month before he was to return to his family—on June 5, 2005—Westhusing was found dead in his trailer at Camp Dublin in Baghdad. At the time, he was the highest-ranking American soldier to die in Iraq. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command report on Westhusing’s death explained it as a “perforating gunshot wound of the head and Manner of Death was suicide.” He was 44.
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=2440
Sgt. Mason Douglas Whetstone 30 3rd Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment, V Corps Daytona, Florida Died of non-combat injuries in Baghdad, Iraq on July 17, 2003
Pvt. Robert C. White III 21 Headquarters Company, 864th Engineer Battalion, 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Camden, New Jersey Died of non-combat related injuries at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, on April 23, 2005
Lance Cpl. Russell P. White 19 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division Dagsboro, Delaware Died due to a non-combat related incident at Camp Bulldog, Afghanistan, on June 20, 2004
BOYD WICKS JR WILMINGTON, DE 2/1/2004
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeffery L. Wiener 32 Navy hospital corpsman assigned to 2nd Marine Division Louisville, Kentucky Died in a combat-related incident in Iraq on May 7, 2005
Spc. Michael J. Wiesemann 20 C Troop, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division North Judson, Indiana Died at Forward Operating Base Q-West (Quyarrah Air Base, Iraq) of non-combat related injuries on May 29, 2004
Staff Sgt. Michael J. Wiggins 26 79th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion Cleveland, Ohio Died of a non-combat related injury in Balad, Iraq, on January 23, 2007
Pvt. Wesley J. Williams 23 163d Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Military Intelligence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 2, 2007
Brigade
Lance Cpl. Jordan D. Winkler 19 Combat Service Support Battalion 1, Combat Service Support Group 11, 1st Force Service Support Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Tulsa, Oklahoma Died due to a non-combat related incident at Camp Falluja, Iraq, on November 26, 2004 US Marines - Lance Cpl Lance Cpl. Jordan Winkler died November 26 due to a non-combat related incident at Camp Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Service Support Battalion 1, Combat Service Support Group 11, 1st Force Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. The incident is under investigation.
http://kotv.com/main/projects/homefronttribute.asp
Lt. Col. Peter E. Winston 56 143rd Sustainment Command Plant City, Florida Died in Kaiserslatuern, Germany, on November 13, 2006, of a non-combat related incident while in Iraq Army Reserve Lt. Col. Peter Winston, 56, died Nov. 13, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, said Steve Alvarez, spokesman for the 143rd Sustainment Command in Orlando. Alvarez said Winston committed suicide but provided no further details out of respect for his family members, who live in Plant City. The Defense Department had issued a statement last week that Winston's death was under investigation. "He was a well-loved officer," Alvarez said. "Everybody is still shaken up by it."
http://www.wftv.com/news/11386028/detail.html
Sgt. Phillip L. Witkowski 24 Battery F, 7th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division Fredonia, New York Died on May 1, 2004, in Homberg, Germany, from non-combat related injuries sustained on April 30, in Kandahar, Afghanistan
Master Sgt. William Wright confessed to strangling his wife a month after his return from Afghanistan. He later hanged himself while awaiting trial in jail, according to police.
They are names not numbers. Some took their own life, others died different ways. What is really terrible is that so many of them died and their deaths are "under investigation" with no answers. Some people want to pass off the deaths of those who took their own life as being cowards, but that would not explain those who committed suicide when they were back home and no longer in danger. Others say that those who committed suicide would have done it anyway, but that would not explain those who were brave enough to risk their lives, over and over again. Some say that sending them back with PTSD and pills is no greater risk, but that would not explain how many they placed in greater risk. For all they say, they have to face the fact PTSD is human illness and only requires trauma. It hits one out of three and with these redeployments the risk is increased by 50%. One more thing they don't like to talk about is that it is not only just the time they are deployed as a one shot deal. It is for every traumatic event. Given what is happening in Iraq, traumatic events happen every day over and over again.
At first I thought this was going to be more than this nation was prepared to address. Now I fear I was right. These are just the stories I could find. What about the ones out there that I couldn't find? This is going to be worse than Vietnam because of the redeployments and no rest.
I left in a lot of names of those who died from health and accidents because these needed to be cleared up. They were listed just as non-combat. We still don't have answers on all of them. I doubt we ever will.
I'll update this one if any more causes are found but that is only if I just come across them. This has taken too much out of me. The other two posts were giving me a hard time trying to edit them.
May God comfort the families and heal the minds of those who suffer still. We have already lost too many who did not die by combat but because of it.
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Posted By Kathie Costos to NAM GUARDIAN ANGEL at 4/05/2007 06:13:00 PM
***There were more since this posting. But this gives you some idea of what is really going on. While not all of the posted reports are connected to suicide, their story is included to provide information and understanding that we cannot assume all "non-combat deaths" are suicides. Vehicle deaths are considered "non-combat" to the military and there were so many, they were not included in this work.
