Sarah Roque was reported missing on October 23. Her body was found two days later — Read on www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/soldier-charged-with-murder-in-death-of-latina-sergeant-in-missouri-found-in-dumpster/ar-AA1tle4V
Tag: Non Combat Death
Army sergeant found dead on Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri hours after she’s reported missing
A 23-year-old U.S. Army sergeant was found dead Monday evening on Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri hours after she was reported missing, officials said.
Lantern Walk gets a military makeover
Oct. 19 event to shine a light on mental health struggles of veterans, active-duty service members.
This year, the Brandon Caserta Foundationand ASU’s Pat Tillman Veterans Center are teaming up for a lantern procession of their own, this one to raise awareness around the mental health struggles of veterans and active-duty service members.
“Suicide in the military is at an epidemic level, and we’re hoping this walk is a way to honor the ones we have lost, the ones who are struggling and the ones who have attempted to take their lives but are still with us,” said Teri Caserta, who along with husband Patrick started the Brandon Caserta Foundation in 2021. The foundation offers assistance, guidance, education and resources to active-duty service members, veterans and their families.
Read on news.asu.edu/20241015-local-national-and-global-affairs-lantern-walk-gets-military-makeover
Family members, victims of Lewiston mass shooting to take legal action against Army
Attorneys say the notices summarize some of the key facts uncovered to date that support their negligence claims, including:
- Between March and July 2023, the Army became aware that Card had suffered a severe and precipitous decline in his mental health, resulting in erratic and combative behaviors, and promised to take steps to address Card’s condition. The Army failed to act.
- The Army, KACH and DoD knew that Card had been exposed to thousands of blast events from his work as a firearms and grenade instructor but did not investigate whether physiological damage to Card’s brain from such blast exposure was a root cause of Card’s sudden and inexplicable onset of mental illness, or otherwise determine whether Card’s illness was caused or exacerbated in the “line of duty,” as required by Army regulations.
- In July and August 2023, the Army and KACH determined that Card’s mental illness—including paranoia, delusions, and homicidal ideations with development of a “hit list”—posed a serious risk to himself and others, but nevertheless allowed Card to return to the community without the cause of his mental illness determined or a plan for treatment, and without reporting Card under New York’s SAFE Act or Red Flag laws.
- Although Card’s doctors released him from the hospital on the condition that he no longer have access to firearms, and the Army and KACH assured his doctors that they would remove Card’s firearms, they did not do so and left Card in possession of numerous weapons, including the AR-10 assault rifle he used to carry out the mass shooting.
- Following Card’s release from the hospital and return to Maine, the Army and KACH failed to notify local Maine law enforcement, provide them with Card’s recent history or inform them that Card’s doctors had directed that Card be separated from his firearms.
- In September 2023, when the Army learned that Card had threated to shoot up the military base in Saco and commit a mass shooting, the Army downplayed and minimized the threat (despite later acknowledging that it was serious and credible), and actively discouraged local law enforcement from taking decisive action.
Air Force maintainers will learn more about mishaps but can’t share it
“The Air Force is trying to halt an increase in maintenance-related aircraft mishaps by putting new safety training and briefings in place for maintainers that the service says will now require those airmen to sign non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, in the process. An NDA is a legal contract that prevents the sharing of such information.”
“The beefed-up training and briefings will allow the Air Force to confidentially share the details on these accidents and quickly teach maintainers what lessons have been learned, Stefanek said.”
“But some critics worry that the NDAs could stifle the Air Force publicly acknowledging its mishaps.”
Read more here: www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2024/10/14/air-force-maintainers-will-learn-more-about-mishaps-but-cant-share-it/
Navy SEALs Drownings in Raid at Sea Were Preventable Investigation Finds
Two U.S. Navy SEALs drowned while attempting to board a ship carrying weapons to Yemen due to training failures, a military investigation has found.
Christopher J. Chambers and Nathan Gage Ingram died in the high seas off Somalia in January.
A heavily redacted report, revealed “deficiencies, gaps and inconsistencies” in the Navy’s training, policies, tactics, and procedures.
Water depths of approximately 12,000 feet made retrieval unlikely.
“The Navy respects the sanctity of human remains and recognized the sea as a fit and final resting place,” the report said.
Their deaths have prompted changes in Naval Special Warfare Command’s training, including a review of flotation equipment policies and man-overboard procedures.
Read on http://www.newsweek.com/navy-seals-drownings-houthis-yemen-investigation-preventable-1967581
A Disaster of the U.S. Military’s Own Making – Austin Valley’s Death Exposed the Army’s Most Urgent Challenge: A Suicide Crisis Among Soldiers in Peacetime
“Austin Valley had just arrived at his Army base in Poland, last March, when he knocked on his buddy Adrian Sly’s door to borrow a knife. The base plate of his helmet was loose and needed fixing, he told Sly. The soldiers had spent most of their day on a bus, traveling from their former base to this new outpost in Nowa Deba, near the border with Ukraine. It had been a monotonous 12-hour journey with no stops and nothing to eat but military rations. Sly thought his friend looked exhausted, but then so did everyone else. He handed Valley an old hunting knife, and Valley offered an earnest smile. “Really appreciate it, man,” he said. Then he disappeared.”
“Word of a soldier’s disappearance spread quickly across the Polish base. Sly recalled sergeants pounding on doors and shining their flashlights. “Where’s Valley?” one asked him. Sly and several others from Valley’s unit took off into the woods. Seeing fresh tracks in the snow, one soldier followed them until he heard a faint gurgling sound. Drawing closer, he saw Valley, hanging from a tree. He was alive, but barely conscious. The soldier cut Valley down, while another called for the medics, who sped off with him into the night. His friends would never see him again. The following morning, Valley was taken to the U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and then returned to Fort Riley. Four weeks later, he was dead.”
Read more here.
What to Know About Suicides in the U.S. Army
“Soldiers are more likely than their civilian peers to die by suicide. Many people wrongly believe this is because of combat trauma, but in fact the most vulnerable group are soldiers who have never deployed. The Army’s suicide rate has risen steadily even in peacetime, and the numbers now exceed total combat deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A Times investigation into the death of Specialist Austin Valley, stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, found that mental-health care providers in the Army are beholden to brigade leadership and often fail to act in the best interest of soldiers.”
Read more here.
RELATED LINKS:
What to Know About Suicides in the U.S. Army
A Disaster of the U.S. Military’s Own Making – Austin Valley’s Death Exposed the Army’s Most Urgent Challenge: A Suicide Crisis Among Soldiers in Peacetime
A Soldier Attempted Suicide in Poland. Left to Roam at Fort Riley, He Killed Himself.
Another Avoidable Army Suicide – National Review
The Vast Majority of Active-Duty Military Deaths Happen in the U.S.—What Is Going Wrong?
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members
Trends in Active-Duty Military Deaths Since 2006 | Congressional Research Service (July 1, 2020)
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside (January 1, 2016 to 2020)
Research Reveals Pattern of Violence, Suspicious Deaths, Problematic Death Investigations, and Cover-up at Fort Hood in Texas (September 11, 2020)
Fort Hood’s Toxic Culture? Red Flags Raised Over Mysterious Disappearances, Sexual Assaults | Hollie McKay (January 6, 2021)
15 Active Duty Cases That Beg for Prevention Efforts, Military Justice Reform, and the End of the Feres Doctrine
Fort Hood Army Sgt. Elder Fernandes Found Deceased in Temple, Texas; Death Ruled Suicide by Dallas Medical Examiner (August 25, 2020)
Kansas Army National Guard Veteran Zachary Schaffer Found Unresponsive in Kansas City Home; Death Ruled Fatal Drug Overdose (January 23, 2019)
Army Pvt. Nicole Burnham Found Unresponsive in Fort Carson Barracks; Death Ruled Suicide After Sexual Assault, Retaliation & a Three Month Expedited Transfer Delay (January 26, 2018)
Navy Sailor Brandon Caserta Died by Suicide at Naval Station Norfolk; Family Pushing for Suicide Prevention Legislation ‘The Brandon Act’ Focusing on Hazing & Bullying (June 25, 2018)
Army explores predicting suicides as a way to prevent them (2013)
Fort Carson Army Pvt. Jordan DuBois Wrote Facebook Suicide Note Shortly Before Dying in Single Vehicle Crash in Colorado (2012)
Army Sgt. Kimberly Agar Died by Suicide in Germany; Death Prompts Family to Raise Awareness of Active-Duty Military Suicide Rates (October 3, 2011)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Iraq)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Afghanistan)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Other Areas)
Cadet’s haunting suicide note prompts parents to file wrongful death claims against Air Force Academy (November 14, 2023)
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A haunting note written by a former United States Air Force Academy cadet, now leading her parents to file wrongful death claims against the Academy.
“Do all that you can to make sure I am the last one,” was the chilling directive 22-year-old Cailin Foster left in her suicide note to her parents on Nov. 7, 2021.
Cailin Foster’s suicide note to her family, November 2021
Gary, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who graduated in 1990, attempted to engage with Academy leadership about what happened to his daughter. He spoke with people who were his former colleagues and friends, only to be met with what he described as people unable to comment.
When they requested a report regarding the investigation into their daughter’s death, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sent them 159 black pages of redacted content.
1 of 159-page report regarding Cailin’s death sent to The Fosters by USAFA. Courtesy: Gary Foster
“Not one letter, word, or punctuation mark was provided. They literally gave us 159 pages like this,” said Gary in disbelief. The Fosters say Air Force Academy has yet to provide any direct documentation to them.
Read more here.
Related Links:
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 