TASK FORCE BAGHDAD SOLDIER DEATH NOT BATTLE RELATED

[leftchick]

http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Casualty_Report.asp?CasualtyReport=20050212.txt

February 11, 2005
Release Number: 05-02-12C


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


TASK FORCE BAGHDAD SOLDIER DEATH NOT BATTLE RELATED

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A Task Force Baghdad Soldier died about 10 p.m., Feb. 10.

The Soldier’s death was not battle related.

The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The incident is under investigation.


http://icasualties.org/oif/

Military Fatalities: By Time Period

Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
3 597 26 28 651 2.86 228
2 717 27 58 802 1.89 424
1 140 33 0 173 4.02 43
Total 1454 86 86 1626 2.34 695

To View Period Details Click The Period Number
Time Periods Defined
Latest Fatality: Feb 10, 2005


Military Fatalities: By Month
Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
2-2005 14 0 1 15 1.36 11

[Eagle_Eye]

1. His death was related to Bush's illegal war! n/t

[FormerDittoHead]

2. ...so he won't be getting that larger death benefit...

Here's a tip to our troops: at least one man in a squad should carry a camcorder with them so when they find your dead bodies and look at the tape, they won't be able to "reclassify" it as "not battle related"...

[SouthernDem2004]

5. That is incorrect. He gets the benefit regardless of how he died.

[FormerDittoHead]

7. Not what I read - must be "in combat" within "combat zones"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52561-2005Jan31.html

"Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon yesterday announced plans to increase death payments by nearly $250,000 to families of U.S. troops killed in combat zones."

"The initiative follows a mounting effort on Capitol Hill to correct what some lawmakers have decried as paltry compensation at present for survivors of U.S. troops killed in combat." (my emphasis)

So if you're killed OUTSIDE of a "combat zone" forget it.

So, is the entirety of Iraq legally considered a "combat zone"? YOU would think so? Hmmmm.

If you DIE from something not "in combat" but still within a combat zone (ie: roadside bomb)?

Furthermore, as punishment of being a lawyer's son, I can see there is even another loophole if one survives long enough to get to Germany, but dies THERE... (note: it doesn't simply say, "dies as a result of injuries sustained in a combat zone, etc.)

[SouthernDem2004]

9. Yes, Iraq is a combat zone... Heck, If I am not mistaken the DMZ

in Korea is still considered a combat zone.

[Az_lefty]

11. Iraq is a combat zone but the article says "killed in combat"

this implies KIA not an accident. I think they need to clearify this.

[Sterling]

8. Is this just another unsupported opinion or do you have a source?

nt

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bridget Burke]

12. This article indicates different benefits for non-combat deaths.

There remain details to work out in this legislation and a couple of other versions of the bill, but it seems clear that the payments should be retroactive and should not make a distinction between combat and non-combat deaths.

www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=108100&z=34

If you can find contradictory information, please pass it on.

And who's calling whom a troll?

[SouthernDem2004]

13. Lol, I do not post pointless comments... Your link...

Actually I was mistaken. They changed the benefit since I joined. You no longer even have to be in a combat zone.

http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourcesContent/0,13964,30873,00.html

[seemslikeadream]

15. Too bad your concern in this thread is money

not death

[SouthernDem2004]

17. Hmmm, I was correcting a misconception by the poster I replied to. We were

not directly discussing money. The poster I replied to thought they were trying to cheat people out of the death gratutity, which they are not. Try rereading the thread...

[seemslikeadream]

3. HOW MANY MORE GEORGIE, HOW MANY MORE?

http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/dover/page283.htm

WHEN A SOLDIER MAKES IT HOME

Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier packs his memories
As he leaves Afghanistan
And back home they don't know too much
There's just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell

And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home

They'll say it wasn't easy
Just another job well done
As the government in Kabul falls
To the sounds of rebel guns
And the faces of the comrades
Being blown out of the sky
Leaves you bitter with the feeling
That they didn't have to die

Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier unpacks memories
That he saved from Vietnam
Back home they didn't know too much
There was just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell

And there wasn't any big parades
For those that made it back
They flew them in at midnight
And unloaded all the sacks
And the living were left walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seemed to care back then
When a soldier made it home

The night is coming quickly
And the stars are on their way
As I stare into the evening
Looking for the words to say
That I saw the lonely soldier
Just a boy that's far from home
And I saw that I was just like him
While upon this earth I roam

And there may not be any big parades
If I ever make it back
As I come home under cover
Through a world that can't keep track
Of the heroes who have fallen
Let alone the ones who won't
Which is why nobody seems to care
When a soldier makes it home

-Arlo Guthrie

[Ilsa]

4. Thank you Seems...

If you don't mind, I'll be sharing your picture today with others not on this board.

[seemslikeadream]

6. Have you been to the website Ilsa?

There are many more pictures there.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/dover/

[Ilsa]

14. Yeah, I've sent links to the site to friends.

I have it booked marked. It's too important to forget.

I posted that pic on another board I visit. It evoked powerful feelings. Then they started discussing the budget, possible draft, etc. People are angry, nervous and frightened, and these aren't hard-core Dems, just concerned moms, most of which voted for Kerry.

[fooj]

16. That poem just pierced a hole right through my heart!

WTF are we going to do? We have to stop this madman. But how? We've got to do something! WE DO CARE!