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

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

Army SSG Renee Deville Found Unresponsive in Hospital Room at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (September 1, 2008)

Renee Deville
SSG Renee Deville, U.S. Army (Photo: Army.mil)

Army SSG Renee Deville, 44, died unexpectedly while in treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on September 1, 2008. SSG Deville was being treated for wounds in the line of duty in Iraq when her husband found her unresponsive in her hospital room. SSG Deville was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom when she was injured. The Department of Defense did not list SSG Deville on the monthly casualties report and the official cause of death is unknown.

“Staff Sgt. Renee Antoinette Deville, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran recovering from complex injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, died Sept. 1 in her room at the Mologne House. She was 44. Deville was found unresponsive by her husband, who began CPR and called for help. Walter Reed Emergency Services personnel transported the Soldier to the Walter Reed Emergency Department, where she was declared dead at 5:10 a.m.” ~Walter Reed Army Medical Center Public Affairs Office

Related Links:
SSGT Renee Antoinette Deville | Find A Grave
4 wounded warriors graduate from BNCOC
First Warrior Transition NCO Class Graduates
Walter Reed Army Medical Center Public Affairs Office
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

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)

Fort Polk Army Pvt. Janelle King Died of Injuries Suffered in a Non-Combat Related Incident in Iraq; Official Cause of Death Unknown (August 14, 2008)

Janelle King
Pvt. Janelle King, U.S. Army

Army Private Janelle King, 23, died of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq on August 14, 2008. Private King was working as a combat medic stationed at Camp Cropper, a military detainee center near Baghdad International Airport, on her first tour of duty at the time of her death. Pvt. King was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 115th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Polk, Louisiana. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. The outcome of the investigation and the official cause of death is unknown. Janelle was from Merced, California, she graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, New Jersey in 2003, and attended a culinary arts school in San Francisco, California before joining the Army in May 2007. Janelle’s father served in the active duty Air Force and she grew up as a military dependent.

“The eldest daughter of an Air Force official, King was born in Altus, Okla., and lived in California, Panama and Hawaii before graduating from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mt. Holly, N.J., in 2003. Brian King said his daughter’s death makes his own work in the Air Force harder at times.” –Los Angeles Times (October 26, 2008)

Related Links:
Pvt Janelle Franshawn King (1985-2008)
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Pvt. Janelle F. King
Janelle F. King | Health.mil
Fort Polk soldier dies in Baghdad
Merced soldier, 23, dies in Baghdad
Army Pvt. Janelle F. King, 23, Merced; medic dies in non-combat-related incident in Iraq
Valley Soldier Dies in Iraq | Her Death is Under Investigation
Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)
No. R-70. House Concurrent Resolution in Memory of the American Military Personnel Who Have Died in the Service of Their Nation in Iraq from March 26, 2008 to Jan 20, 2009.
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
August: Department of Defense Casualties (2008)
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members

Air Force TSgt Jackie Larsen Died of a Non Combat Related Illness Supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom at Balad Air Base in Iraq (July 17, 2008)

Jackie Larsen
TSgt. Jackie Larsen, US Air Force

Air Force TSgt. Jackie Larsen, 37, of Tacoma, Washington, died of natural causes on July 17, 2008 at Balad Air Base in Iraq.  She was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base in California.

Larsen died of non-combat-related medical causes, a Beale spokesman said, but the exact cause of death is not being released. –Military Times

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jackie L. Larsen
Air Force sergeant dies in Baghdad
Beale loses Airman to natural causes in Iraq
Servicemembers mourn loss of one of their own
A Tribute to Technical Sergeant Jackie L. Larsen (US Air Force)
Honoring Technical Sergeant Jackie Larsen
Time of Remembrance: TSgt. Jackie Larsen
“I love you, I love you. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
U.S. military deaths in Iraq war at 4,124
Non-Combat Casualties in Iraq in July Exceeded Combat Casualties
Gov. Issues Statements On Deaths of Military Personnel
List of Washington’s Iraq War dead
100 female U.S. service members have died in Iraq
Noonie Fortin: Killed in Iraq or in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)

May: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (May 31, 2008)

Department of Defense

05/31/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Nunez, 27, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

05/29/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Chad Trimble, 29, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/28/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Justin Buxbaum, 23, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Hood, Texas

05/28/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Christopher Gathercole, 21, Afghanistan, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

05/28/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jason Dene, 37, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Stewart, Georgia

05/27/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Leimbach, 38, Afghanistan, South Carolina Army National Guard

05/27/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Frank Gasper, 25, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

05/27/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Blake Evans, 24, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/27/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kyle Norris, 22, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

05/27/2008:  Airmen MIA From Vietnam War are Identified

05/23/2008:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Jeffrey Ammon, 37, Afghanistan, Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni

05/21/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeffrey Deprimo, 35, Afghanistan, Pennsylvania Army National Guard

05/21/2008:  DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty: Joseph Moore, 54, NCD, Djibouti, Idaho Air National Guard

05/20/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Davy Weaver, 39, Afghanistan, Georgia Army National Guard

05/20/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Branden Haunert, 21, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/20/2008:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: William Cooper, 22, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

05/16/2008:  Soldiers Missing from The Korean War are Identified

05/16/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: John Daggett, 21, Iraq, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

05/14/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Victor Cota, 33, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

05/12/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jessica Ellis, 24, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/12/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Brown, 20, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

05/12/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Joseph Ford, 23, NCD, Iraq, Indiana Army National Guard

05/11/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ara Deysie, 18, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/10/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Mary Jaenichen, 20, NCD, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

05/10/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Isaac Palomarez, 26, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/09/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Aaron Ward, 19, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

05/09/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Alex Gonzalez, 21, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

05/08/2008:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Casey Casanova, 22, Miguel Guzman, 21, James Kimple, 21, and Glen Martinez, 31, Iraq, Camp Pendleton, California

05/08/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jeremy Gullett, 22, and Kevin Roberts, 25, Afghanistan, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/05/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Corey Hicks, 22, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

05/04/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeffrey Nichols, 21, Iraq, Fort Polk, Louisiana

05/03/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Lawrence Ezell, 30, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

05/03/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Chad Caldwell, 24, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

05/03/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jerry DeLoach, 45, NCD, Iraq, WTU, Fort Knox, Kentucky

05/02/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Andrew Pearson, 32, and Ronald Tucker, 21, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

05/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Bryan Bolander, 26, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

05/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Merlin German, 22, Iraq, Camp Pendleton, California

05/01/2008:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Clay Craig, 22, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky 

Fort Stewart Army Spc. Mary Jaenichen Died of Non-Combat Related Injury in Iskandariyah, Iraq (May 9, 2008)

Mary Jaenichen
Spc. Mary Jaenichen, U.S. Army

Army Spc. Mary Jaenichen, 20, died of a non-combat related injury on May 9, 2008 in Iskandariyah, Iraq. Spc. Jaenichen was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. The official cause of death is unknown.

The 2006 graduate had signed up for the Army Reserve at age 17 with the promise of a military-funded college education. She attended boot camp between her junior and senior years. At the time of her death, she was assigned to the Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga. Her father, Alfred Alan “Jay” Jaenichen of Santa Ana, who recently retired as a Marine master sergeant, said she was serving as a military police officer at a “detainee holding area” — a prison. ~LA Times

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Spc. Mary J. Jaenichen
Army Spc. Mary Jane Jaenichen, 20, Temecula
Six Soldiers With Ties To San Diego Die
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members

Army National Guardsman Spc. Timothy Juneman Died by Suicide; Family Shares Imminent Redeployment to Iraq ‘Major Stressor’ (March 5, 2008)

Timothy Juneman
Spc. Timothy Juneman, Washington Army National Guard (Screenshot from DVIDS)

“The identity of one other veteran who killed himself this year became public when his family wrote U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in April about concerns with VA mental health care. Spc. Timothy Juneman, 25, a National Guardsman and former [Fort Lewis] Stryker Brigade soldier who was injured in a roadside explosion in Iraq, died March 5, 2008…Juneman’s body was found in his Pullman home March 25, nearly three weeks after he had hanged himself. He had missed several appointments at the Spokane VA. In records obtained by Juneman before his death, Brown wrote that imminent redeployment to Iraq with the National Guard was a ‘major stressor’ contributing to Juneman’s condition, his mother said.” Read more from The Spokesman here.

In the News:

CBS News first reported on the staggering number of veteran suicides in a report last year. Now, newly-released data shows that vets who get help from the VA are still at risk. -CBS News (March 20, 2008)

They served their country honorably but after risking their life in combat abroad, coping with coming home was too much. In the last three months seven servicemen being treated by Spokane’s VA Hospital have committed suicide. -4 News Now (April 29, 2008)

Despite recent efforts by the Veterans Administration to prevent veteran suicide, seven have committed suicide in the Inland Northwest in the last four months and US Senator Patty Murray is calling the situation unacceptable. -4 News Now (May 1, 2008)

Related Links:
Timothy Dean Juneman | Find A Grave
Timothy D. Juneman | Time of Remembrance
Interview with SPC Timothy Juneman | DVIDS
Lives lost at home | The Spokeman-Review
Apr. 29, More Suicide News: Seven Veterans Under VA Care in Washington Commit Suicide
US: Veteran turned away from military hospital commits suicide
Distress Signal | The American Prospect
Local veteran’s suicide reflects troubling trend
Suicide Watch | The New Republic
Soldiers’ emotional battle scars put doctors in dilemma
Veteran Suicides An Epidemic (CBS News)
Seven veterans under VA’s care commit suicide
Murray calls for changes in VA in wake of veteran suicides
Timeline of Veteran Suicides, Legislative Efforts, and Nationwide Negligence at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Fort Hood Army Spc. Keisha Morgan Died of Non-Combat Related Cause in Baghdad, Iraq; CID Ruled Suicide But Family Suspects Rape & Murder (February 22, 2008)

Keisha Morgan
Spc. Keisha Morgan, U.S. Army

Army Spc. Keisha M. Morgan, 25, died of a non-combat related cause in Baghdad, Iraq on February 22, 2008. Spc. Morgan was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood in Texas. Army investigators ruled her death a suicide by overdose of her military-dispensed prescription anti-depressants. The family suspects Keisha may have been raped and murdered.

“But Keisha had confided in her mother about a night when she was certain a fellow soldier had slipped something in her drink at a local bar. When she awoke the following morning–failing to remember how she left the bar and returned to barracks–the soldier was in her room. This same man was on base at the time of Keisha’s death, says her mother, recalling her daughter’s concern about this. A week later, a roommate found Keisha lying on the floor and couldn’t tell if she was sleeping. Keisha erupted in seizures and the roommate ran for help. Medics could not stabilize her and she passed away.” ~WomensENews (December 17, 2010)

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Spc. Keisha M. Morgan
District Soldier Keisha Morgan Dies in Iraq
Soldier in Iraq dies of non-combat cause
Mother of One Dead Soldier Suspects Sex Assault
U.S. Military Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’?
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