Marine Sgt. Camella Steedley died while supporting combat operations on October 3, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Sgt. Steedley was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on behalf of the Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the cause of death was under investigation. She is survived by her husband, also in the US Marine Corps, and four children.
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)
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 