Army Pfc. Tina Priest, 20, died from a non-combat related injury in Taji, Iraq on March 1st, 2006. She was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Divison at Fort Hood, Texas. The Army ruled the death an apparent suicide but Tina’s parents dispute that finding based on the evidence and believe that she was raped and murdered; Tina reported a rape two weeks prior to her death. This case is no longer under investigation by the Army but considered an unsolved cold case because of the concerns the family has with the death investigation and cause of death ruling by the Army. Forty-one (41) female service members died of non combat related injuries while serving in Iraq; and twenty-three (23) were labeled homicide, suicide, or the cause of death is unknown. Tina’s suspicious death was discussed in the Silent Truth Documentary and on the Crime Junkie Podcast.

“What happened to LaVena Lynn Johnson and so many others speaks to a Pentagon culture which more closely resembles a rogue government–than a legitimate branch serving under civilian control. It is highly telling that this family, along with the Tillman family each had to have a documentary film made JUST TO ALERT THE PUBLIC TO THE TRUTH OF PENTAGON COVER-UPS. I urge everyone to view this important documentary – before the local military recruiter mandated under No Child Left Behind –‘friends’ their child at school. God forbid, they could wind up coming home in a body bag – like LaVena.”  Read more from Truthout here.

The Silent Truth Documentary:

Ninety-four US military women in the military have died in Iraq or during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). ‘The Silent Truth’ tells the story of one of these women, PFC LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead on Balad Air Force Base in Iraq. The army claimed she shot herself with her own M16 rifle, but forensic evidence, obtained by the Johnson family through the Freedom of Information Act, brings the army’s findings into question. The Army refuses to re-open LaVena Johnson’s case, leaving the family in limbo. ‘The Silent Truth’ follows the Johnson’s pursuit of justice and truth for their daughter. -The Silent Truth Documentary (July 1, 2014)

Crime Junkie Podcast:

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Pfc. Tina M. Priest
Tina Priest’s Death In Iraq Under Investigation
Did Army do enough to prevent soldier’s death? (2007)
Family disputes Army’s suicide finding in daughter’s death
U.S. Military Is Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’
Pfc. Tina Priest’s rape and the Irony of the Iraq War
“Rape in the Ranks: The Enemy Within”
U.S. Military Covering Up Possible Murders of Female Service Members
Sisters in Death: The Systemic Misogyny of Militarism Leads To Deaths of U.S. Servicewomen and Iraqi Civilian Women
Is U.S. Military Covering Up Rape, Murder?
Hiding Military Sexual Trauma
A Shot Away: Personal Accounts of Military Sexual Trauma
Waging Gendered Wars: U.S. Military Women in Afghanistan and Iraq
Crime Junkie Podcast Featured the Suspicious Deaths of LaVena Johnson & Tina Priest in ‘Conspiracy: Women in the US Military’ (October 22, 2018)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Hood, Texas (US Army)
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside
Stop Killing Us!!! (YouTube)
The Silent Truth | YouTube Movies
The Silent Truth (FULL DOCUMENTARY)