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Shoddy standards blamed for electrocutions in Iraq By Terry Kivlan
Congress Daily July 11, 2008
The mothers of two soldiers electrocuted in Iraq due to faulty electrical wiring in military facilities urged a Senate Democratic panel to hold the Pentagon and its contractors accountable for the deaths of their sons and 11 other American personnel who have suffered the same fate.
"Anger has taken over my grief," said Larraine McGee of Texas, in testimony before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
Her son, Texas Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Christopher Everett, 23, was electrocuted while power-washing a Humvee in Iraq almost three years ago.
"My son was my hero," said Cheryl Harris of Pennsylvania.
Harris' son, decorated Green Beret Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, was killed six months ago while taking a shower at a Baghdad military facility.
His "burnt and smoldering" body was discovered lying in electrified water on the shower stall floor by a soldier who kicked down the door to get in, Harris testified.
She said that although an improperly grounded pump was blamed for the death, the Army initially told her that he may have triggered the shock by carrying an electrical appliance into the shower.
Entire article here,( be sure to check out comments )
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0708/071108cdpm1.htm
Posted : 2008-07-28 09:53
The rest of the story...
I spent a year in Iraq as the base safety officer at one of the largest air bases there. Not to sound too crass but there is another side of the story. This is a War zone. Most of the facilities use the existing Iraqi base/city infrastructure. We basically had two grids - the 115V tactical gird that ran all of the operational necessities and the existing base 240V grid. The 240V grid, which I'll call the "luxury grid" was crappy to begin with and not designed to handle all of 115V TVs, DVs, and PS2s the soldiers think they rate - alot of which ran off illegally procurred or installed converers. We had a hard enough time keeping the tactical grid up. Bringing the "luxury" grid down for needed maintenance typically brought a lot of whining from those who think they rated hot showers, internet, and microwaves 24/7. Of the safety issues I saw there most were caused by service members doing illegal wiring or overloading circuits. The military, KBR, and contract electricians I worked with were all professional.
Posted : 2008-07-28 21:51
