Tag: Ciara Durkin

Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Afghanistan)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, Navy, Non Combat Death, Suicide, USAF, USMCLeave a comment

Map of Afghanistan

2014
3 May 14: Pfc Daniela Rojas, Army (non-combat related illness, required treatment beyond military’s capability)

2013
2 Jul 13: Spc Hilda Clayton, Army (non-combat related incident, training exercise)
3 May 13: Capt Victoria Pinckney, USAF (KC-135 airplane crash, malfunction, pilot error)
11 Mar 13: Capt Sara Cullen, Army (helicopter crash during training mission, under investigation)

2012
3 Oct 12: SGT Camella Steedley, USMC (cause of death is under investigation)
5 Sep 12: CWO2 Thalia Ramirez, Army (helicopter crash, under investigation)
24 Aug 12: Pfc Patricia Horne, Army (unspecified causes)

2011
21 Dec 11: Spc Mikayla Bragg, Army (found shot & killed in a guard tower, military ruled suicide)
27 Apr 11: MSgt Tara Brown, USAF (gunfire wounds sustained from Afghan military trainee)
16 Apr 11: SSG Cynthia Taylor, Army (Afghan National Army soldier grenade attack)
16 Apr 11: SGT Linda Pierre, Army (Afghan National Army soldier grenade attack)

2010
16 Nov 10: LTC Gwendolyn Locht, USAF (non-combat related illness, Leukemia)
22 Oct 10: SSG Aracely Gonzalez O’Malley, Army (non-combat incident, brain aneurysm)

2009
8 Aug 09: SSG Tara Smith, Army (non-combat related medical condition)
27 Mar 09: LT Florence Choe, Navy (Afghan National Army soldier opened fire on military personnel)

2008
25 Jul 08: Spc Seteria Brown, Army (injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident)

2007
28 Sep 07: Cpl Ciara Durkin, Army (single gunshot wound to the head, military ruled suicide, family suspects murder after Ciara shared concerns of safety)

2006
17 Feb 06: SrA Alecia Good, USAF (two helicopters crashed into the Gulf of Aden during a training mission)

2005
6 Apr 05: SGM Barbaralien Banks, Army (helicopter in which she was riding crashed)
6 Apr 05: Spc Chrystal Stout, SCARNG (helicopter in which she was riding crashed)

2004
4 Jul 04: Spc Julie Hickey, Army (complications from a non-combat-related illness)

2003
23 Mar 03: Tamara Archuleta, USAF (killed in a HH-60G Pave Hawk crash)

2002
12 Jun 02: SSgt Anissa Shero, USAF (killed in an MC-130H Combat Talon crash)
9 Jan 02: SGT Jeannette Winters, USMC (killed in a refueling tanker crash)

Civilians
6 Apr 13: Anne Smedinghoff, US State Dept (convoy vehicle struck by vehicle that exploded)
30 Dec 09: Jennifer Matthews, CIA (killed by an informant who had set a trap)
30 Dec 09: Elizabeth Hanson, CIA (killed by an informant who had set a trap)
7 Jan 09: Paula Loyd, Human Terrain System, US Army (doused with fuel & set afire by irate Afghan civilian)
3 Feb 05: Carmen Urdaneta, Management Sciences for Health (aircraft crash near Kabul)
3 Feb 05: Cristin Gadue, Management Sciences for Health (aircraft crash near Kabul)
3 Feb 05: Amy Meeks, Management Sciences for Health (aircraft crash near Kabul)

Related Links:
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Other Areas)
Noonie Fortin: Killed in Afghanistan or in support of Operation Enduring Freedom

Army Cpl. Ciara Durkin Died in Non Combat Related Incident in Afghanistan; Death Ruled Suicide But Asked Family to Investigate if Anything Happened (September 28, 2007)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat Death, Suicide2 Comments
Cpl. Ciara Durkin, Massachusetts Army National Guard

Army Cpl. Ciara Durkin, 30, died from a non combat related incident in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan on September 28, 2007. Cpl. Durkin was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on behalf of the 726th Finance Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard in West Newton, Massachusetts. According to the Department of Defense, the circumstances surrounding the incident were under investigation at the time of the press release. Ciara was found dead near a chapel on a secure base with a gunshot wound to the head about an hour and a half after leaving work on a Friday. The cause of death was ruled a suicide by Army investigators. According to media reports, the family believes Ciara’s death is suspicious because she shared in an e-mail that in her Finance role, she uncovered some things she didn’t like and feared she made some enemies. She asked her family to investigate if anything were to happen to her while she was serving. Ciara’s brother indicated that Ciara had left a happy birthday message for him on the day that she died. He said she sounded heartbreakingly upbeat.

The family announced they were going to commission an independent autopsy and were demanding answers from the military with the assistance of then Senator John Kerry (D-MA). They told CBS News that initially they had been told that she was killed in action then later the manner of death was changed to non combat related injuries. After the e-mails, warnings, and other observations, the family rightfully feared Ciara had been murdered. They were not sure what the motive was but they speculated that it could be because of what she uncovered in the Finance office and/or a hate crime. The family feared that Ciara’s sexual orientation played a role in her death as well. In media reports, the family expressed that their grief is made more torturous by the limited information released by the Army, and rumors. They shared that misinformation following the deaths or injuries of service members does not help them with remembrances of their loved one during a time of grief. Like most families who have lost a loved one, they want to know what happened and they want to know the truth.

Most frustrating to the family, the Army is offering very little information and no explanations…Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who has been helping the family, says it’s not enough and he and is demanding answers. In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Kerry asked why the family had not been given autopsy results and why the Army hadn’t answered the family’s request for an independent autopsy. –ABC News (October 4, 2007)

Family, City, State Honor Slain Soldier From Quincy:

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Cpl. Ciara M. Durkin
Ciara M. Durkin, Corporal, United States Army
Quincy woman is latest war casualty
Family, city, state honor slain soldier from Quincy
Kin say soldier hinted at concerns
Mystery Surrounds Death of U.S. Soldier
Another Mysterious Death of a Soldier Overseas
NPR & Other National Media Outlets Continue to Ignore the LaVena Johnson Case, An Open Letter to NPR: A Tale of Two Soldiers
How Did Specialist Ciara Durkin Die?
How Did Specialist Ciara Durkin Die? (The Constantine Report)
What happened to Ciara Durkin?
Slain Lesbian Soldier Ciara Durkin Remembered
Justice for Ciara Durkin
Army rules soldier from Mass. killed self
Army rules Quincy soldier’s death a suicide
Death of Quincy soldier in Afghanistan ruled a suicide, family says
Army: Ciara Durkin’s death a suicide
Army says Ciara took her own life
Ciara Durkin: Lesbian soldier suspiciously shot dead in Afghanistan; Army calls it a suicide
Murder on the Base?
Corporal Laid to Rest After 2007 Suicide
Questions surround death of Irish-born soldier
Was Army Specialist In Afghanistan Murdered?
Mass. service members who died in Afghanistan
U.S. Military Is Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’
Ten years later, Army Private LaVena Johnson’s family still grieves and questions the Army’s version of her death
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Afghanistan)
Massachusetts Fallen Heroes