Hilo soldier dies on 4th tour in Iraq

[DoYouEverWonder]

December 17, 2006

HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island man who was on his fourth tour in Iraq died Friday of injuries he suffered two weeks ago when a roadside bomb exploded near an armored Stryker vehicle he was riding in as part of a convoy, a family member said.

Henry Kahalewai, 44, was a senior enlisted man who planned to retire next year after 20 years in the Army to build a home on land he owned in Upper Puna, said Joseph Aguiar, Kahalewai's cousin.

Kahalewai had a grown son who lives in Honolulu, and two younger daughters who lived with him and his wife in Tacoma, Wash., Aguiar said.

"He's our hero. Four tours of Iraq is enough for one person," Aguiar said.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Dec/17/br/br9703261458.html


I would think 4 tours is more then enough. Maybe some of the Bush kids should consider signing up for even just one tour?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I've read

where some soldiers are saying that they will be redeployed and redeployed until they are killed. This poor fellow's fate sort of reinforces that idea.

[saigon68]

18. Its a logical outcome ------sooner or later

If you keep sticking your hand in a running garbage disposal to get a manicure, sooner or later you will get MORE than a manicure.

These people are lifer volunteers with the mentality (It won't happen to me)

They get lots of rustics killed by their antics

[babylonsister]

2. So not fair; this man served his country, why couldn't they give

him a break? And that applies to all the soldiers in this bullshit war...:cry:

[rainy]

3. Why is it that some go on so many tours and some never even go once?

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. Good question

I know a fellow whose been in the Marines since 2000 and hasn't gone once. He did get orders last month to go to Iraq in January, so it seems his luck has run out.

[wakeme2008]

5. Answer in the article

his cousin had expertise in armored vehicles, including tanks and the Stryker.

Like with the Alaska Stryker troops being extended. These ppl are in short supply.

[Roland99]

6. *4th*?!?!

:evilfrown:


And the Bush Doctrine now is to extend Army tours from 12 to 15 months and Marine tours from 7 to 9 months.


WHEEEEE!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Plus send 30,000 to 50,000 more troops to Iraq

Where does he think he's going to get these troops from?

In the meantime, Bush leaves the US virtually unprotected. He'd much rather protect his precious oil.

[Roland99]

8. Well, are they NEW troops or just REDEPLOYED from other parts of Iraq?

I've heard conflicting reports.

[IndianaGreen]

9. The odds of death or injury increase the more combat tours one has

that's a mathematical certainty! And we have 2 more years of war!

[bluedeminredstate]

10. I see that he was injured two weeks ago

Does the Pentagon count that as KIA and include that in the numbers of dead we hear about, for example at the end of ABC's Sunday show when they list the names of the soldiers who died in the previous week, or is it just the local media that follows up on a death of a local soldier that gets a story like this out there in the first place?
In other words, if a soldier dies at Walter Reed hospital or somewhere out of Iraq with some time between the explosion/shooting/IED and actual death, is that being counted in the tally the media is keeping (as released by the Pentagon) or do we have another whole group of individuals who haven't been "counted" as casualties because they didn't die on the battlefield?

[RamboLiberal]

11. Yes they are counted - It is a popular misconception they are

not. But do you think any family would let their loved one be counted? Good site for keeping up to date is this Iraq Coalition Casualties which has no affiliation with the government.

http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx

[genie_weenie]

12. It's quite clear and is SOP

that US soldiers are expendable cogs to be used up until they are broken beyond repair or destroyed.

And it is good, because they signed a "contract". And it is made quite clear to all the cogs that if they attempt to disobey the State, the limitless money and power of the State shall be brought to bear upon them.

Hooray for Our Side!

[The Sushi Bandit]

13. Hawaii sends more than its share to die in Iraq

A sad day for us all!

[Rex]

14. 4 tours is too much for a human to process.

I wish it was a warcrime, but people in this country LOVE Bush and his fucked up war in Iraq!

4 tours, RIP soldier. Your country asked way too much of you. :(

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. Big Money! No Whammy! No Whammy!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. Meanwhile, Chimp's daughter lost her purse!!!*

Will the horrors never end?







*While she was getting shit-faced again.

[lebkuchen]

17. V Corp soldiers now returning from their 2nd tour of Iraq say

they hope to god they don't have to go on a 3rd tour. It's gotten "really bad" in Iraq since the first tour.

Fourth tour? It was just a matter of time...

[saigon68]

19. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[lebkuchen]

21. YOU

are Time's Person of the Year. :)

[Ezlivin]

20. The idea of "fixing" Iraq is terribly Sisyphean

It'll happen at the same time that we win the War on Drugs, the War on Poverty and eradicate terrorism.

Bring 'em all home!