August: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2008)

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Administrator

08/29/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Gonzalez, 20, Iraq, 340th Military Police Company, Fort Totten, N.Y.

08/29/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Cooper, 25, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/28/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Tan Ngo, 20, Afghanistan, Hohenfels, Germany

08/26/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brian Studer, 28, Afghanistan, Mannheim, Germany

08/24/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Paquet, 26, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

08/22/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Todd Jr., 36, Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West, Herat, Afghanistan

08/22/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: George Stanciel, 40, Iraq, Bamberg, Germany

08/22/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Nickolas Hopper, 27, Iraq, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Cherry Point, N.C.

08/20/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Travis Stottlemyer, 20, NCD, Bahrain, Marine Corps Security Forces, Norfolk, Va

08/19/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jonathon Luscher, 20, NCD, Afghanistan, Pennsylvania Army National Guard

08/19/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Donald Carwile, 29, and Paul Conlon Jr., 21, Aghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

08/19/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Janelle King, 23, NCD, Iraq, Fort Polk, Louisiana

08/19/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kristopher Rodgers, 29, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

08/18/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Anthony Mihalo, 23, and Juan Lopez-Castaneda, 19, Afghanistan, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California

08/18/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Jacob Toves, 27, Afghanistan, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California

08/15/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Daniel McGuire, 19, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/14/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: James Hale, 23, Iraq, Fort Bliss, Texas

08/14/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Michael Ferschke Jr., 22, Iraq, Okinawa, Japan

08/13/2008: Missing WWII Pilot Is Identified: Howard Enoch Jr., US Army Air Forces

08/12/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Adam McKiski, 21, and Stewart Trejo, 25, Iraq, Camp Pendleton

08/11/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: John Mattox, 23, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

08/11/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kenneth Gibson, 25, Iraq, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

08/11/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jose Ulloa, 23, Iraq, Mannheim, Germany

08/10/2008: DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Anthony Carbullido, 25, Guam, Naval Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes, Illinois

08/09/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Danny Maybin, 47, NCD, Kuwait, Fort McPherson, Georgia

08/07/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Errol James, 29, NCD, Afghanistan, Grafenwoehr, Germany

08/06/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ronald Schmidt, 18, NCD, Iraq, Kansas Army National Guard

08/06/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Timothy Hutton, 21, NCD, Iraq, Bamberg, Germany

08/06/2008: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Garrett Lawton, 31, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/06/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Gary Henry, 34, and Jonathan Menke, 22, Iraq, Indiana Army National Guard

08/05/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jaime Gonzalez, Jr., 40, Afghanistan, Texas Army National Guard

08/05/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brian Miller, 37, NCD, Iraq, Indiana Army National Guard

08/04/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ryan Baumann, 24, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

08/04/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jennifer Cole, 34, NCD, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

08/04/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Andre Mitchell, 25, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/04/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: David Badie, 23, Michael Girdano, 23, William Mulvihill, 20, and Jair De Jesus Garcia, 29, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

08/04/2008: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kevin Dickson, 21, NCD, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/04/2008: Sailor Missing from The Vietnam War is Identified: Manuel Denton, US Navy

Cold Case: Army Veteran Kanika Powell Shot Several Times at Doorway of Maryland Home, No Known Suspects At This Time (August 28, 2008)

Posted on August 28, 2008 by Administrator

Kanika Powell, US Army veteran

Army veteran Kanika Powell, 28, was brutally gunned down outside the door of her home on August 28, 2008 in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Kanika enlisted in the Army in 2000, served in Korea, and then got out of the military and was finally living her dream job in national security. Kanika had a top secret security clearance. Prior to the murder, Kanika had some odd encounters. Two men showed up at her house claiming to be the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They called her by name and put a fake FBI badge up to her peephole. She did not open the door. She called her work to ask if someone sent them; they had not. The incident frightened Tanika. Five days later another man showed up at her house, asked for her by name, claimed to have a package for her then left. Twelve hours later someone else showed up again claiming to have a package for her then left. Tanika was fearful for her safety. A few days later Kanika was shot several times. The gunman was standing right outside her door waiting for her. The police report that no hand gun was found and there are no known suspects at this time. The case has turned up few leads. Kanika’s wallet and keys were found next to her body so robbery was ruled out as a motive. The police do not believe her job was the motive. The police and Crime Watch Daily welcome tips.

“On Saturday, August 23rd, 2008, Kanika had a frightening experience where a man posing as an FBI agent had tried to gain access to her apartment. He knew her name, and approached her door, but Kanika was intelligent enough to not allow him inside. She later called the police to report the incident…When she arrived back at her apartment at approximately 11:50 a.m., someone was waiting in the hallway and shot her multiple times…Police were baffled by the seemingly motiveless crime and didn’t have so much as a single suspect.” –Trace Evidence

The Murder of Kanika Powell (027) | Trace Evidence

The Denver Post Published ‘Waging Internal War’: An Examination of the Army’s Tendency to Deploy Soldiers Who Need Medication Management (August 26, 2008)

Posted on August 26, 2008 by Administrator

An event on the Auraria campus aimed to help community members understand mental health issues in returning veterans. -The Denver Post (November 17, 2011)

“Chad Barrett’s war on terror started in the hours after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when he was called to help dig bodies out of a smoking Pentagon. It ended Feb. 2, 2008, in Mosul, Iraq, when his roommate awoke to find him gasping and gurgling, with foam coming from his mouth. Barrett had been cleared for a third combat tour in Iraq despite a recent suicide attempt, crushing headaches and a mental illness treated with medication for anxiety and depression. Two months after he arrived, he killed himself by swallowing an unknown number of pills. He was the sixth soldier from Fort Carson to commit suicide in Iraq. At least 10 others have killed themselves in the U.S., nine after returning from the war.” -David Olinger & Erin Emery, The Denver Post (August 26, 2008)

An analysis of the information showed that:

• Army suicides in Iraq tripled in three years, from 10 in 2004 to 32 in 2007.

• In 2006 and 2007, 20 of the 59 soldiers who killed themselves in Iraq were deployed from a single base — Fort Hood in Texas.

• Fourteen of the soldiers who killed themselves in Iraq were 19 years old. Nearly half were 23 or younger.

Read more ‘Waging Internal War’ from The Denver Post here.

Army SFC Kelly Stewart Accused of Sexual Assault by German Citizen in a ‘He Said She Said’ Case; Despite Proving Innocence, Railroaded With Collateral Charges (August 23, 2008)

Posted on August 23, 2008 by Administrator

Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Stewart, US Army

The early morning hours of August 23, 2008 changed Army Special Forces soldier Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Stewart’s life forever. Stewart went out for a night of drinking and partying in Germany with some other soldiers. Stewart was approached by a woman, a German citizen, and they began to dance. An hour or so later, they would leave together to engage in a casual one night stand. The next morning they said their goodbyes and she gave Stewart her number. A couple months later, Stewart would learn from German police and the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) that he was being accused of sexual assault by this same woman. Three Days in August by Bob McCarty takes the reader step by step through Kelly Stewart’s military court proceedings in Germany in August 2009. This book reveals the reasons so many concerned citizens are fighting for military justice reform. Whether you believe he is guilty or not, Kelly Stewart was railroaded with collateral charges in this particular court martial. There was no evidence, no forensic testing, and no witnesses to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt yet Kelly Stewart paid the price for embarrassing the US Army in an international incident.

Kelly Stewart had a stellar career and zero history of any wrong-doing in his more then ten year career, including behavioral and criminal. But the military prosecutor would lead you to believe he was a violent rapist luring his one victim with manipulation, not force. You read the book and decide for yourself if Kelly Stewart fits the modus operandi of a would be predator. After watching the Netflix docuseries Making a Murderer and reading Kelly Stewart’s record of trial, it’s looking like we have a case of making a rapist. As with all investigations, this is a testament to the value of the right to remain silent whether talking to your Chain of Command or an investigator. Given the military’s track record with aggressive and ruthless tactics, silence will prevent them from twisting your statements into something they are not. Kelly Stewart may have committed adultery and he owned up to it but what if when questioned he had said nothing and denied even knowing her. It’s not his fault that he or any of our soldiers think they can trust the system only to learn that it will betray them. Nothing can stop us from educating our soldiers about their due process rights, the same rights protected by the very Constitution they are willing to die for.

Fort Hood Army Staff Sgt. David Paquet Died of Undetermined Causes While Conducting Patrol at Combat Outpost Vegas in Afghanistan (August 20, 2008)

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Administrator

Staff Sgt. David Paquet, U.S. Army

Army Staff Sgt. David Paquet, 26, died August 20, 2008 of undetermined causes while conducting a patrol at Combat Outpost Vegas in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Paquet was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on behalf of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. The outcome of the investigation and the official cause of death are unknown.

Fort Polk Army Pvt. Janelle King Died of Injuries Suffered in a Non-Combat Related Incident in Iraq; Official Cause of Death Unknown (August 14, 2008)

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Administrator

Pvt. Janelle King, U.S. Army

Army Private Janelle King, 23, died of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq on August 14, 2008. Private King was working as a combat medic stationed at Camp Cropper, a military detainee center near Baghdad International Airport, on her first tour of duty at the time of her death. Pvt. King was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 115th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Polk, Louisiana. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. The outcome of the investigation and the official cause of death is unknown. Janelle was from Merced, California, she graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, New Jersey in 2003, and attended a culinary arts school in San Francisco, California before joining the Army in May 2007. Janelle’s father served in the active duty Air Force and she grew up as a military dependent.

“The eldest daughter of an Air Force official, King was born in Altus, Okla., and lived in California, Panama and Hawaii before graduating from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mt. Holly, N.J., in 2003. Brian King said his daughter’s death makes his own work in the Air Force harder at times.” –Los Angeles Times (October 26, 2008)

Air Force SrA Sabrina Autrey Found Dead at Off Base Apartment in Arlington, Virginia; Official Cause of Death Unknown (August 13, 2008)

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Administrator

SrA Sabrina Autrey, U.S. Air Force

Air Force SrA Sabrina Autrey, 23, was found dead in her off base apartment in Arlington, Virginia on August 13, 2008. She was declared missing after failing to show up for work at the Pentagon and then discovered at her home. SrA Autrey was assigned to the Military Personnel Flight, 11th Mission Support Squadron at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C. The Arlington Police Department reported there were “no signs of a forced entry or suicide” and “an autopsy found no obvious signs of foul play or trauma” (a toxicology report was pending). The outcome of the investigation and the official cause of death is unknown.

Fort Carson Army Soldier Marc O’Leary Raped 18 yo Woman in Washington; Three Years Later Arrested in Colorado for Multiple Rapes, Sentenced to 300+ Years (August 11, 2008)

Posted on August 11, 2008 by Administrator

Marc Patrick O’Leary, U.S. Army

On August 11, 2008, Marc Patrick O’Leary raped an eighteen year old at knife point in Lynnwood, Washington. The 18 year old woman reported the rape to her local police department but they accused her of lying and she was charged with false reporting. In 2011, Marc O’Leary was arrested in Colorado for rape and consequently admitted to raping several women in Washington and Colorado. DNA, digital evidence, and O’Leary’s vehicle linked him physically to several rapes. As it turns out, there was evidence on a camera corroborating the 18 year old’s report of rape in 2008. Investigators learned the Lynnwood, Washington police didn’t believe the alleged victim of rape and she was indeed found guilty of false reporting and fined $500.

The victim sued the City of Lynnwood who refunded her $500 fine and settled out of court for $150,000. Marc O’Leary pleaded guilty to the rapes in Colorado and was sentenced to over 300 years in prison. ProPublica covered the story and highlighted the dangers of mishandling rape cases and not using the FBI national database created to help catch repeat offenders. ProPublica won a Pulitzer prize for their coverage of “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” with The Marshall Project. Maureen Maher of 48 Hours also did an investigation titled the “Hunted” and she went inside the mind of a serial rapist who was hunting his victims while two detectives were hunting him.

Cops can be protective about their cases, fearing that information could be leaked that would jeopardize their investigations. They often don’t know about, or fail to use, an FBI database created years ago to help catch repeat offenders. Between one-fourth to two-thirds of rapists are serial attackers, studies show. -ProPublica

True Crime:

“48 Hours” goes inside the mind of a serial rapist hunting his victims while two detectives were hunting him. -48 Hours (November 17, 2016)

48 Hours Premiered ‘Hunted’ on CBS; An Investigation of a Military Serial Rapist Hunting Victims While Two Detectives Hunt for Him (November 19, 2016)

Inspired by real events, a teen reports and eventually recants her reported rape, while two female detectives, states away, investigate evidence that could reveal the truth. Based on The Marshall Project & ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning article, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape,” written by T. Christian Miller & Ken Armstrong, “Unbelievable” is a story of unspeakable trauma, unwavering tenacity, & astounding resilience. -Netflix (July 18, 2019)

Netflix Premiered “Unbelievable”; Based on the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Article, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” About Marie Adler (September 13, 2019)

Videos:
48 Hours Premiered ‘Hunted’ on CBS (2017)
48 Hours “Hunted”
“48 Hours” preview: Hunted
“48 Hours” investigates the hunt for a serial rapist

Fort Campbell Army Pfc. Jennifer Cole Died of a Non Combat Related Incident in Bayji, Iraq; Cause of Death Ruled Negligent Homicide (August 2, 2008)

Posted on August 2, 2008 by Administrator

Pfc. Jennifer Cole, U.S. Army

Army Pfc. Jennifer Cole died of a non combat related incident in Bayji, Iraq on August 2, 2008. Pfc. Cole was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 426th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. An investigation revealed that Jennifer died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen. According to the family, she was accidentally shot by a fellow Army soldier while they were cleaning their weapons. They learned that the weapon had not been cleared prior to the cleaning and no one is sure how it got into the place where Jennifer was shot. The soldier (Thurston) responsible for the accidental shooting was charged with negligent homicide. He spent 30 days in military jail and was given a general discharge from the Army. Jennifer’s mom, Candy Gholson, shared with Napa Valley, California newspapers that the Army wouldn’t give her information, provide her with paperwork, or tell her exactly what happened to her daughter.

Candy Gholson shared that she heard three different versions and wanted to know exactly what happened. She also shared that she learned from Jennifer’s roommate in the Army that no one ever questioned her and they both thought that odd considering most investigations start with those closest to the victim. Both Jennifer’s parents shared the frustration that it is not easy getting answers from a military organization or is it easy dealing with the bureaucracy of the Army and their typical federal government run-around. The parents were told to go through the Freedom of Information Act for the investigation report but the Army warned them it could take up to a year to get the trial transcript they were requesting. Jennifer’s step father, a US Marine Corps veteran, reiterated that he too wanted to know the details of what happened and that he didn’t have hard feelings towards the soldier who killed his step-daughter. But he does feel that Thurston’s superiors should have been court-martialed for ineffective supervision and oversight of the weapons.

“I understand they had a trial for the guy (Thurston) who shot my daughter. I was told he spent 30 days in a military jail and was discharged from the Army. He didn’t get a dishonorable discharge, but the one just above that. But I have never received any paperwork to that effect,” Gholson said. “I just want answers. And it’s not easy trying to get them from a military government institution. “I’ve heard three different stories from the Army about what happened the day Jennifer died,” Gholson said. “I want to know what exactly happened that day. There were witnesses. Why can’t the Army get the story straight?” ~Napa Valley Register (December 11, 2008)

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

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Monthly Archives: August 2008