Army Spc. Alyssa Peterson, 27, died from a non-combat weapons discharge in Telafar, Iraq on September 15, 2003. Spc. Peterson was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the C Company, 311^th Military Intelligence Battalion, 101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. Media reports indicate that Spc. Peterson’s death was ruled a suicide.

“Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what most would call torture — another wrong turn by the United States following 9/11 — Alyssa Peterson refused, then killed herself a few days later, on September 15, 2003…Spc. Alyssa Peterson was one of the first female soldiers who died in Iraq. Her death under these circumstances should have drawn wide attention. It’s not exactly the Tillman case, but a cover-up, naturally, followed.” –Greg Mitchell Huffpost (October 12, 2014)

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Spc. Alyssa R. Peterson
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The Death of Iraq Interrogator Alyssa Peterson: My Account
Torture: An Author and a Resister
US Military is Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’
Remembering the US Soldier Who Committed Suicide After She Refused to Take Part in Torture
Part II: The Soldier Who Chose Suicide After She Refused to Go Along With Torture
US interpreter who witnessed torture in Iraq shot herself with service rifle
Empathy, integrity, torture led to Army suicide
Brother of Alyssa Peterson, Torture Victim, Comments
The Alyssa Peterson Story by Greg Mitchell
The US soldier who killed herself after refusing to torture
September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2003)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members
House Armed Services Committee Congressional Investigation of Fort Hood: Research Reveals Pattern of Suspicious Deaths and Cover-up (September 11, 2020)