August: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2009)

Department of Defense

08/31/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jason Dahlke, 29, and Eric Hario, 19, Afghanistan, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia

08/31/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Abraham Wheeler III, 22, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/29/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Earl Werner, 38, and Taylor Marks, 19, Iraq, Oregon Army National Guard

08/28/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kurt Curtiss, 27, Afghanistan, Fort Richardson, Alaska

08/28/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Wildes, 18, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/27/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: John Hallett III, 30, Cory Jenkins, 30, Ronald Sawyer, 38, and Dennis Williams, 24, Afghanistan, Fort Lewis, Washington

08/27/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Donald Hogan, 20, Afghanistan, Camp Pendleton, California

08/26/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Darby Morin, 25, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/25/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Joseph Fortin, 22, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/24/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Andrew Lobosco, 29, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/23/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Troy Tom, 21, and Jonathan Yanney, 20, Afghanistan, Fort Lewis, Washington

08/23/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Ingram, 25, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/22/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Justin Pellerin, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/21/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brian Wolverton, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/21/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jose Crisostomo, 59, Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force Kabul

08/20/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Clayton Bowen, 29, and Morris Walker, 23, Afghanistan, Fort Richardson

08/20/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Paul Dumont, Jr, 23, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Eustis, Virginia

08/20/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Hastings, 23, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/20/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Van Osdol, 23, Iraq, Schweinfurt, Germany

08/19/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Adam Benjamin, 34, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/19/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Leopold Damas, 26, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/19/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Woods Jr, 31, Afghanistan, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Glen Arm, Maryland

08/17/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Nicholas Roush, 22, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/17/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Joshua Bernard, 21, Afghanistan, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay

08/14/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: William Cahir, 40, Afghanistan, Marine Forces Reserve, Washington D.C.

08/14/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: John Tinsley, 28, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/12/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Bruce Ferrell, 21, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/11/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Richard Walters Jr, 41, NCD, Kuwait, Fort Benning, Georgia

08/10/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Patrick Schimmel, 21, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/10/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Javier Olvera, 20, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/10/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Dennis Burrow, 23, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/10/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jerry Evans Jr, 23, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/10/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Swanson, 20, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/10/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Tara Smith, 33, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/09/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Matthew Freeman, 29, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Japan

08/07/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: James Argentine, 22, Travis Babine, 20, and Jay Hoskins, 24, Afghanistan, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay

08/07/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Christian Guzman Rivera, 21, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Japan 

08/06/2009:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Anthony Garcia, 21, Afghanistan, Marine Corps Base Hawaii

08/05/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Keiffer Wilhelm, 19, NCD, Iraq, Fort Bliss, Texas

08/04/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Ronald Luce Jr, 27, Alejandro Granado, 42, and Severin Summers III, 43, Afghanistan, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Jackson, Mississippi

08/03/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jonathan Walls, 27, Richard Jones, 21, and Patrick Fitzgibbon, 19, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/03/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Alexander Miller, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/03/2009:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Johnny Polk, 39, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/02/2009:  Remains Identified as Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher

08/01/2009:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Gregory Posey, 22, and Jonathan Stroud, 20, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Related Links:
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2002)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2003)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2004)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2005)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2006)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2007)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2008)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2010)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2011)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2012)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2013)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2014)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2015)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2016)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2017)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Afghanistan)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Other Areas)

Navy Petty Officer Amanda Snell Murdered by Marine Jorge Torrez in Barracks at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia; Sentenced to Death by Federal Judge (July 13, 2009)

Amanda Snell
P.O. Amanda Snell, U.S. Navy

Navy Petty Officer Amanda Jean Snell, 20, was found dead in her room at the barracks at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia on July 13, 2009. Naval Criminal Investigation Services (NCIS) had jurisdiction of her case. They conducted an initial investigation yet the case went nowhere because NCIS investigators confided in the murderer and were divided on whether the death was a homicide, suicide, or accidental. As a result, the DNA lab testing was not considered a priority because the autopsy was considered undetermined, not a homicide. Four years and four civilian victims later, former U.S. Marine Jorge Avila Torrez was indicted for Amanda’s murder, found guilty by a federal court, and sentenced to death in 2014.

Torrez lived on the same co-ed floor as Amanda Snell in Keith Hall barracks on the base. On the night of July 12, 2009, he entered her room, she screamed, and he strangled her in an effort to silence her. His crimes were sexually motivated. He jammed Amanda into her locker and put a pillow case over her head in an effort to fool investigators into thinking she had suffocated. After she was found dead on the federal base, NCIS began their investigation. They interviewed multiple people in the barracks and initiated a forensic examination of Amanda’s room. They claim they sent the evidence to the military DNA lab testing facility to determine if any DNA was present. In the meantime, Torrez offered to help with the investigation and NCIS accepted his offer. They asked him to spread a rumor around the barracks that they had a witness who saw someone enter her room that night.

During the stalled NCIS investigation, Torrez attacked four other civilian women in Arlington, Virginia in 2010. Three of them escaped his attempted abduction but one of them was abducted, raped, strangled, and left for dead in the woods. Torrez thought he killed her but she lived. Because all four victims reported the crimes, the Arlington Police Department was able to make the connection with the four cases. Thanks to the due diligence of two Arlington police officers, detectives were able to find out who owned the light colored SUV. These two police officers had observed on shift that the driver of this SUV was acting suspiciously and called in his license plate number to determine if he had any outstanding warrants. They learned Torrez was an active duty Marine living at Keith Hall Barracks on the the Navy base. The Arlington Police detectives had to coordinate with NCIS to gain access to the base so they could arrest him and search his room and vehicle. Jorge Torrez was jailed while he awaited trial.

While Torrez was awaiting trail, he asked some inmates to help him find a hit man to silence the three witnesses that would be testifying against him. One of the inmates he confided in was a confidential informant. After the informant reported the troubling conversations with authorities, he was asked to wear a wire to record future conversations. It was at this time that Jorge Torrez not only admitted his intentions to kill the three victims who were going to testify against him at his trial but he also revealed that he murdered Amanda Jean Snell at the Navy base. Meanwhile, the Arlington Police Department entered the DNA from the victim who was raped into CODIS, a national DNA database, and got a hit to two murders of children in Zion, Illinois where Torrez was from. When NCIS finally tested and compared the DNA on the sheets in Amanda’s room, this forensic evidence linked Torrez to Amanda’s murder as well. The Marine Corps dishonorably discharged him from the military.

NCIS bungled this investigation from the beginning. The investigators could not agree on whether Amanda Snell was murdered, committed suicide, or died accidentally. Because her autopsy report was “undetermined” and her death was not ruled a homicide, it did not have priority in the military DNA testing lab. Apparently an undetermined death and rape and sexual assault DNA is not given a high priority in military labs. When in fact, if all suspicious deaths and sex crimes were given higher priority, we could prevent further victimization and homicides. It was not until they learned of the four other victims in Arlington, Virginia and the two murders of children in Zion, Illinois that they expedited the testing of the DNA found in Amanda Snell’s room. We do not know if it is procedure for NCIS to compare DNA evidence of military members accused of crimes to the national DNA database. If they had tested the DNA earlier and entered the DNA into CODIS, they would have got a hit to the two murders in Illinois.

In the initial stages of the investigation, the NCIS agents investigated multiple people in the barracks. Jorge Torrez offered to be a confidential informant of sorts to help them with the investigation. They accepted. They asked him to spread a rumor that they had a witness who saw someone enter her room that night. They wanted to ferret out the killer by spreading panic. Quite often investigators will say they have evidence they don’t have in an attempt to cause stress and elicit confessions. Now they were not able to call anyone’s bluff. They in effect blew any chances of an effective investigation by telling the actual killer that they had nothing. It’s troubling that they did not see the red flag when Torrez offered to inject himself into the investigation. Murder suspects have been known to do this and befriend the victim’s family and friends in an attempt to stay apprised of what police know.

Lastly if sexual assault, rape, and undetermined causes of death were given higher priority in the NCIS DNA testing labs then maybe we could have prevented four other women from becoming victims of sex crimes and attempted murder. NCIS admits that the DNA was not given priority because it was not a homicide. Had NCIS made the DNA a higher priority and compared the results of the testing in CODIS, the national DNA database, they would have got a match to the DNA in Zion, Illinois. As a result of this match, they would have been able to triangulate the connection between Torrez in the barracks and where he was from in Zion, Illinois. They could have got a “commanders search warrant” to conduct a forensic examination of his room. There they would have found evidence of criminal intent like the collection of porn images they found on his computer that included fantasies about rape and suffocation of women. DNA from sexual assault and rape should be given the highest priority in the military DNA lab testing facilities to prevent an escalation of violent crimes to homicide both in the military and in our civilian communities. All DNA profiles tested in the military should be immediately entered in CODIS.

Eight months after Jorge Avila Torrez was arrested by the Arlington Police Department, he was found guilty and sentenced to five life terms and 168 years in prison for the attacks on three of the four civilian women from Arlington, Virginia. Four years later, he was found guilty and sentenced to death by the federal courts for the murder of Amanda Jean Snell on the US Navy base in Arlington, Virginia. In an unexpected plot twist Illinois authorities learned the man they convicted for the murders of Krystal Tobias (9) and Laura Hobbs (8) was innocent. Authorities released Jerry Hobbs, the father of one of the children, from jail in 2010 and vowed to try Torrez for a sexual assault of one child and the murder of both children from Zion, Illinois. Illinois authorities charged Torrez with the crimes in 2015 and are expected to go to trial some time in 2016. Jorge Torrez is currently sitting on death row.

Investigation Discovery:

In the shadow of the nation’s capital, a mysterious death on a Marine base confounds the NCIS — was it an accident, or was it a homicide? It won’t be long before police are hunting a violent sexual predator whose trail leads right back to the base. -Capitol Predator, Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall (S3,E6)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.

Related Links:
Marine strangled Navy petty officer in 2009, feds say
Ex-Marine linked to girls’ murders charged in death of Navy officer Amanda Snell
Zion Man Charged In Woman’s Virginia Death
Former Marine Charged With 2009 Murder At Henderson Hall
‘I know someone set me up’
Predator in the Ranks: Inside a Real-Life NCIS Murder Case
Judge won’t bar evidence of other crimes allegedly committed by defendant in death-penalty case
USA v Jorge Avila Torrez, Notice of Intent to Seek Sentence of Death
Ex-Marine Jorge Torrez won’t contest death penalty for murder of Navy sailor
Ex-Marine Jorge Torrez Orders Lawyers Not to Fight Death Penalty
Ex-Marine tells lawyers not to fight death penalty
Torrez Jailhouse Confession Tape Released
Jorge Torrez Convicted in Killing of Amanda Jean Snell
Former Marine Could Face Death Penalty
Ex-Marine Guilty of Murder, Could Face Execution
Ex-Marine Convicted of Fellow Service Member’s Murder, Could Face Execution
Former Marine convicted of first-degree murder in death penalty case
Jurors convict Zion man in Va. sailor killing, to hear evidence in slayings of 2 girls
Department of Justice: Former Corporal Sentenced To Death In Barracks Murder
Ex-Marine Jorge Torrez formally sentenced to death by federal judge
Ex-Marine sentenced to death for the violent, sexually motivated murder of fellow service member
Ex-Marine sentenced to die for female sailor’s slaying
Torrez sentenced to death in sailor’s murder
Ex-Marine gets death sentence in Las Vegas native’s killing
Mom on death penalty for Torrez: ‘I only wish I could do it myself’
DNA Evidence Sets Texoma Man Free
Coerced Confession, Miracle Exoneration: The Case of Ex-Monster Jerry Hobbs
Man Wrongfully Charged in Zion Double Murder to Receive $6 Million
$7.75 Million Settlement for Father Wrongly Jailed for Daughter’s Murder
Ex-marine ‘who raped and murdered two little girls’ may NEVER face trial and ‘laughed’ when he was told a victim’s father had been wrongly imprisoned for five years for the killings
Former Marine Jorge Torrez to Appeal Death Sentence
10 years after 2 girls killed in Zion, families still await justice
Official wants closure in Zion murders, no matter the cost
Illinois officials go after ex-Marine on death row
Illinois prosecutors go after ex-Marine on death row
Jorge Torrez to stand trial in 2005 Zion murders of Laura Hobbs, Krystal Tobias
Man charged in murder of two Zion girls not expected to face trial this year
Convicted killer Torrez pleads not guilty in Zion slayings
Ex-Marine sentenced to death in Virginia pleads not guilty in deaths of 2 Illinois girls
Defendant in Zion double murder accuses young victim’s dad
Defense: Victim’s father, not ex-Marine, killed 2 girls
Defense: Victim’s father, not former Marine, killed 2 girls
Slain Va. man was one-time informant who got Marine to confess to murders
Fox 5 DC: Slain Virginia Man Osama El-Atari Was One-Time Informant Who Got Marine Jorge Torrez to Confess to Three Murders (February 16, 2016)
Police arrest 2 in slaying of freed jailhouse informant
Judge allows DNA evidence linking ex-Marine to Lake County child killings
Defense attorney wants ‘compromised’ DNA thrown out in Zion murder
Ex-Marine admits killing 2 suburban Chicago girls in 2005
Ex-Marine sentenced to death in killing of sailor in Arlington admits to killing 2 Chicago girls
Ex-Marine admits killing 2 suburban Chicago girls in 2005
Former Marine pleads guilty to 2005 murder of Zion girls
Ex-Marine pleads guilty to 2005 murders of girls, ages 8 and 9, in Illinois
Ex-Marine Admits Killing 2 Suburban Chicago Girls in 2005
Child Murders: Ex-Marine Serial Killer Guilty In IL Girls’ Deaths
Ex-Marine ‘Serial Killer’ Sentenced To 100 Years For Mother’s Day Murders Of 2 Girls
‘You are a serial killer’: Jorge Torrez sentenced to 100 years for 2005 Murders
Zion double murder still resonates for prosecutors
Jorge Avila Torrez v USA, United States Supreme Court (2018)
List of Federal Death-Row Prisoners | Death Penalty Information Center
Ex-Marine Jorge Torrez strangled Navy Petty Officer Amanda Jean Snell to death; Sentenced to death
Capitol Predator | Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall | Investigation Discovery (S3,E6)

Marine Corps Veteran Carri Goodwin Died of Alcohol Poisoning in Alliance, Ohio; Dad Finds Evidence of Military Rape & Suicidal Thoughts in Journals (February 28, 2009)

Carri Goodwin
Carri Leigh Goodwin, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran

My original efforts were inspired by Carri Leigh Goodwin, LaVena Johnson, and the many other servicemembers who did not survive as a result of their service to this country. In honor of these men and women, we pledge to fight for justice on their behalf, amplify their voices, and support the families who deserve to know the truth.

In August 2007 at the age of eighteen (18), Carri Leigh Goodwin of Alliance, Ohio enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to make her Marine Corps veteran father proud. During her short time in the Marine Corps, Carri was sexually assaulted by two different men while serving, reported the crimes, and instead of being taking seriously was discharged with a mental health diagnosis and misconduct discharge. Like most rape survivors, Carri had acute Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) from the brutal assaults she endured. Carri Leigh Goodwin died on February 28, 2009 from alcohol poisoning only a few days after being discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps. Gary Noling wants to honor her and all the families who have lost their child to the sexual assault and violence epidemic in the U.S. military. Gary wrote about his experience with the tragic loss of his daughter in the New York Times in August 2016: What the Military Owes Rape Survivors Like My Daughter.

Related Links:
Carri Leigh Goodwin (1989 – 2009)
Carri Leigh Goodwin MST
More charges in court brawl
Speaking Out: US Military Sexual Violence and Trauma Against Women
In Harm’s Way: Non-combat deaths of Ohio soldiers raise questions about U.S. military’s treatment of female members
The Tragic Case of Maria Lauterbach
Military Sexual Trauma: Is this how we treat women in the military?
Military Sexual Trauma: The Women’s War
Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Services: The Invisible War
Military Fails to Protect Service Members from Rape— Class Action Lawsuit filed against the Pentagon
Why suicide rate among veterans may be more than 22 a day
Tammi Sue Goodwin-Smith Obituary
What the Military Owes Rape Survivors Like My Daughter | NY Times
What the Military Owes Rape Survivors Like My Daughter | SOFREP
Petition: Support Victims Of Military Sexual Assault
RAPE & SEXUAL ASSAULT are Dirty Little Secrets for the Military, Especially the US Navy
‘Military Sexual Trauma’: the victims behind allegations of abuse in the U.S. Armed Forces
Carri Leigh Goodwin | Wikipedia

History: The Military And Domestic Abuse (January 28, 2009)

Critics say the military needs to do more about domestic violence against women. A CBS News investigation found more than 25,000 women have been victimized over the past decade. Katie Couric reports. -CBS

Related Links:
A Silent Struggle (2009)
Domestic Abuse In The Military (2009)
The Army And Domestic Abuse (2009)
Abused Military Wife Speaks Out (2009)
Bringing The War Home (2009)
Tonight: Investigating Domestic Violence In The Military (2009)
When War’s Violence Comes Home (2009)

MJFA Research:
Fort Bragg Army Nurse Lt Holley Wimunc Murdered by Marine Husband the Day After She Announced Divorce, John Wimunc Sentenced to Life in Prison (2008)
Rep. Braley introduces Holley Lynn James Act (2011)
Army Spouse Katherine Morris Found Dead in Car Near Mall; Cause of Death Initially Ruled Suicide But Further Investigation Suggests Homicide Motivated by Insurance Fraud (2012)
Evidence Reveals Army Reserve Recruiter Adam Arndt Murdered HS Student & Recruit Michelle Miller, Then Killed Self; Army Claims Double Suicide (2013)
Army Sgt Michael Walker Allegedly Conspired to Murder Wife with Prostitute for Insurance Money; Awaiting Murder Trial in Hawaii Civilian Court (2014)
Army Pfc Karlyn Ramirez Found Shot to Death in Home, Army Veteran Dolores Delgado Plead Guilty & Army Sgt Maliek Kearney Awaiting Trial (2015)
Army Pfc. Shadow McClaine Reported Missing at Fort Campbell on 9/2; Spc. Charles Robinson Pleaded Guilty to Murder, Sgt. Jamal Williams-McCray Awaiting Trial (2016)
Life Insurance Fraud is a Common Motive for Murder in the Military
A List of Soldiers Targeted & Murdered for Military Survivor and Life Insurance Benefits
30 Domestic Abuse Cases in the Military That Ended in the Murder of Female Partners
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members

History:
Spouse Abuse A Military Problem (1999)
Pentagon Reveals 50,000 Abused Military Spouses (1999)
General: The Good Soldier Doesn’t Beat His Wife (2001)
Retired judge remembers ‘60 Minutes’ Ed Bradley (2006)
When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly (2008)
PTSD and Domestic Abuse: Husbands Who Bring the War Home (2010)
Domestic violence: end of your time in the military? (2011)
Reports of family violence, abuse within military rise (2011)
A Silent Epidemic: Spousal Abuse is the Military’s Best Kept Secret (2012)
High risk of military domestic violence on the home front (2014)
How The Military Failed This Victim Of Domestic Violence (2014)
DoD Highlights Programs to Prevent, Treat Domestic Violence (2014)
After Combat Stress, Violence Can Show Up At Home (2016)
Sutherland Springs Church Killer Was Kicked Out of Air Force for ‘Bad Conduct’ (2017)
An Air Force error allowed the Texas gunman to buy weapons (2017)
Air Force Failed to Report Texas Church Gunman Devin Kelley’s Domestic Violence Convictions (2017)
Here’s the Document That Should Have Prevented Devin Kelley From Buying Guns (2017)
Read Devin P. Kelley’s assault and domestic violence court documents (2017)
The loophole that may have given the Texas church gunman access to his arsenal (2017)
A Domestic Violence Loophole In The UCMJ? [Update: Kelley Was In A Mental Health Facility] (2017)
Texas shooting puts scrutiny on military’s criminal reporting system (2017)
The military reports almost no domestic abusers to the main background check database for guns (2017)
Defense Department has Reported Only One Domestic Abuser to Federal Gun Database (2017)
US military consistently fails to report domestic violence to gun database, senators say (2017)
The Air Force Error That Let the Texas Church Shooter Buy a Gun Is Just One of ‘Thousands’ (2017)
There Is No Domestic Violence Loophole in Military Law (2017)
Assault charges erased by veterans’ ‘Valor Act’ (2017)
Clarifying Our Reporting on the Military, Domestic Violence Records, and Gun Background Checks (2018)

Congressional Action:
Jeff Flake, Martin Heinrich introduce bill to close domestic violence loophole in military (2017)
Hirono Bill Closes Military Loophole On Firearm Purchases (2017)
Sen. Hirono Introduces Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act (2017)
Rep. Rosen Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Close Loophole in Military Justice System that Allows Convicted Domestic Abusers to Buy Guns (2017)
Following Shooting in Texas, Kaine Introduces Bill to Close Loophole in Military Justice System that Enables Convicted Abusers to Purchase Guns (2017)
Military wife alleges abuse in the Army (2018)
Victims can face obstacles in domestic violence cases involving soldiers (2018)
Tillis Chairs Hearing on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in the Military (2018)
YouTube: Tillis Chairs Hearing on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in the Military (2018)
C-SPAN: Hearing Focuses on Domestic Violence & Child Abuse in the Military (2018)
SASC: Hearing Focuses on Domestic Violence & Child Abuse in the Military (2018)
Mother of sexually abused child: The military is failing victims (2018)
Lawmakers move to make domestic violence a crime under UCMJ (2018)
The UCMJ May Get A Domestic Violence Update To Prevent The Next Texas Church Shooting (2018)
UCMJ domestic violence overhaul aims to prevent another mass shooting (2018)
Rosen Amendment to Make Domestic Violence a Crime Under the U.S. Military Code of Justice Passes the House Armed Services Committee (2018)
S. 2129: Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Stacy Dryden Died of Injuries Sustained in Non-Hostile Incident in Anbar Province, Iraq; Death Ruled Homicide, No Charges Filed (October 19, 2008)

Stacy Dryden
Lance Cpl. Stacy Dryden, U.S. Marine Corps

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Stacy Dryden, 22, died of injuries sustained in a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq on October 19, 2008. Lance Cpl. Dryden was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 1st Supply Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group in Camp Pendleton, California. The Department of Defense announced that the incident was under investigation at the time of the press release. Media reports suggested that Stacy died of a suspected head injury she sustained during a wrestling match with a fellow Marine. In one report, a Marine public affairs officer stated that her manner of death has been ruled a homicide, but no wrongdoing was found and no charges were filed. The family expressed their frustration with the investigation of the murder of Stacy and additionally feel that no one was held accountable in an effort to protect the reputation of the Corps.

“They circle the wagons,” she says about how the military handled Maria’s murder and other female soldier deaths. “They are trying to protect their reputation.” And the military is protecting its reputation while struggling to recruit soldiers for an all-volunteer military. –City Beat (March 27, 2012)

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Legislation would commemorate Ohio Marine who died in Iraq
My Perspective on “Fragging” and Sexual Violence in the Military
Military Sexual Trauma: Is this how we treat women in the military?
Hiding Military Sexual Trauma
Fallen Angel: A North Canton soldier was found dead in Iraq. How she died depends on whom you ask
Is This How We Treat Our Female Soldiers?
Families seek answers about daughters’ “Non-Combat” deaths
Military rules in Marine’s death
Questions Are Discouraged When Women in Military Die, Pentagon seeks to spin, squelch stories on female fatalities
Marine’s father has questions about her death
Marines Probe Woman’s Death in Iraq
Canton Marine killed in non-combat incident in Iraq
Service members gather to honor fallen
Marine Lance Cpl. Stacy A. Dryden
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Iraq)
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members

Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, US Marine Corps, and Spouse Quiana (2008)

Jan & Quiana Pietrzak (2008)
Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, US Marine Corps, and Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak

Honoring Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, both were slain Oct. 15, 2008. Four fellow USMC members are charged with murder under special circumstances; all face the death penalty.

Related Links:
Murder of Jan Pawel and Quiana Jenkins Pietrzak

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

xl_deptofdefenselogo

09/29/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jamel Bryant, 22, NCD, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/29/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Hasenflu, 38, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/29/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Medders, 25, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/29/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ronald Phillips Jr, 33, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/25/2008:  Air Force Pilots Missing From The Vietnam War Are Identified

09/24/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Thomas Brown, 26, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/23/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Sidney Marceaux Jr, 69, NCD, Kuwait, Warrior Transition Brigade, Walter Reed Army MC, Maryland

09/23/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Bruno Desolenni, 32, Afghanistan, Oregon Army National Guard

09/23/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Taylor, 25, Iraq, Fort Polk, Louisiana

09/23/2008:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Matthew O’Bryant, 22, NCD, Marriott Bombing, Islamabad, Pakistan, Fort Meade, Maryland

09/23/2008:  Soldier Missing From The Vietnam War Is Identified

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Nathan Cox, 35, and Joseph Gonzales, 18, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Jerome Bell Jr, 29, Afghanistan, Twentynine Palms, California

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brandon Farley, 30, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casuality: Joshua Harris, 21, Afghanistan, Illinois Army National Guard

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casuality: Bruce Hays, 42, Afghanistan, Wyoming Army National Guard

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casuality: Mohsin Naqui, 26, Afghanistan, Fort Benning, Georgia

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casuality: Jason Vasquez, 24, Afghanistan, Illinois Army National Guard

09/22/2008:  DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty: Rodolfo Rodriguez, 34, Islamabad, Pakistan, Ramstein Air Base, Germany

09/21/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Daniel Eshbaugh, 43, Brady Rudolph, 37, and Michael Thompson, 23, NCDs, Iraq, Oklahoma Army National Guard

09/21/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Corry Edwards, 38, Anthony Mason, 37, Julio Ordonez, 54, and Robert Vallejo II, 28, NCDs, Iraq, Texas Army National Guard

09/19/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: James Wiley, 46, NCD, Afghanistan, New York Army National Guard

09/18/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Darrick Wright, 37, NCD, Iraq, Army Corp of Engineers, Alabama

09/18/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Leonard Gulczynski I, 19, NCD, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/16/2008:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Eichmann Strickland, 23, Afghanistan, Iwakuni, Japan

09/16/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ralph Marino, 46, NCD, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

09/16/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Murdock, 22, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

09/15/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Darris Dawson, 24, and Wesley Durbin, 26, NCD, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/15/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Slebodnik, 39, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/15/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Daniel Sexton, 53, NCD, Iraq, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

09/15/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Marques Knight, 24, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

09/13/2008:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Jason Freiwald, 30, Afghanistan, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Virginia

09/13/2008:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: John Marcum, 34, Afghanistan, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Virginia

09/10/2008:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Jesse Melton III, 29, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Japan

09/10/2008:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Nicholas Madrazo, 25, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Japan

09/09/2008:  Missing WWII Soldier Is Identified

09/08/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Vincent Winston Jr, 22, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

09/08/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Dinterman, 18, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

09/08/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jordan Thibeault, 22, NCD, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/08/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualities: Kenneth Mayne, 29, and Bryan Thomas, 22, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/05/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Gregory Rodriguez, 35, Afghanistan, Ansbach, Germany

09/04/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Patrick May, 22, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/04/2008:  Three Missing WWII Sailors Are Identified

09/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Joshua Harris, 36, Afghanistan, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Virginia

09/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Steven Fitzmorris, 26, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

09/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jorge Feliz Nieve, 26, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Carlo Alfonso, 23, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

Ex-Marine & Police Officer Robert McClain Convicted of Rape, Torture & Kidnapping of Wife & Lover, Sentenced to 20 Years & 4 Consecutive Life Terms (2008)

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Robert McClain, US Marine Corps Veteran

In July 2012, ex-Marine and police officer Robert McClain was sentenced to 20 years and four consecutive life terms for brutalizing his wife and her lover in an hours long attack on September 28, 2008 in Irvine, California. Once McClain learned of his wife’s affair, he asked her to introduce him to her new boyfriend because he wanted to meet the man who would be around his children. Unbeknownst to her, McClain brought knives and guns to the meeting so he could punish both victims because of their affair. According to his wife Summer Lang, McClain was extremely jealous, controlling and violent during the marriage. When he learned his wife wanted to divorce him after 12 years of marriage, he planned the attack on her and her lover, Michael Heflin. McClain was convicted of several felonies including rape, torture, and kidnapping. Although Michael Heflin survived the attacks, he was beaten and stabbed multiple times, resulting in permanent brain damage and other life long injuries. Summer was tortured, kidnapped, and raped but managed to escape after Robert McClain fell asleep.

“What’s scary about this case is if he can do that to his wife he can do that to anybody.” -The Orange County Register

Related Links:
Man beaten in Irvine to require facial reconstruction
Deputy charged in sexual torture
Los Angeles sheriff’s Deputy Robert McClain
Ex-Sheriff’s Deputy Was Sane When He Raped And Tortured Wife, Her Lover
Former sheriff’s deputy Robert McClain goes on trial in brutal torture case
Woman testifies of torture by former deputy
Former sheriff’s deputy’s wife testifies: Husband tried to force me to castrate lover
Defense: Wife of ex-deputy accused of torture lied
Robert McClain Guilty of Torture and Sex Assaults on Wife and Her Lover
Ex-L.A. County sheriff’s deputy convicted of mayhem, torture, rape
Prosecutor: Former L.A. deputy tortured wife, her lover
Ex-deputy gets 4 life terms for torture
Jury: Ex-deputy sane during torture, rape
Jury: Ex-deputy sane when he tortured, assaulted wife, her lover
Wife of former sheriff deputy testifies her husband tried to force her to ‘castrate her boyfriend after two hours torturing the pair’
Robert Avery McClain, Deputy-Turned-Sadistic Torturer, Leads the Prison McChain Gang
Deadly Affairs: Swan Song (Amazon Video)
Deadly Affairs: Swan Song (Investigation Discovery)


Love is in bloom for a young marine and his wife, until a musician sweeps in, leaving behind lies and treachery. Passion and jealousy will explode into murder. -Discovery ID

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

Department of Defense

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., 36Afghan 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

Related Links:
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2002)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2003)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2004)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2005)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2006)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2007)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2009)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2010)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2011)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2012)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2013)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2014)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2015)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2016)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2017)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Afghanistan)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Other Areas)

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

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.

Related Links:
Understanding Mental Health in Veterans
Waging internal war – The Denver Post