Military, contractor blamed in Shaler soldier's electrocution

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WASHINGTON -- Military leaders and a major military contractor failed to protect a Green Beret who was electrocuted while showering in his barracks in Iraq, the Defense Department's Inspector General determined.

The early 2008 death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Shaler in suburban Pittsburgh triggered an investigation by the IG of Sgt. Maseth's death, but also a review of 17 other electrocution deaths in Iraq. Uproar over it also led to the electrical inspections of about 90,000 U.S.-maintained facilities in Iraq, which are ongoing.

The inspector general says in its findings to be released later today that "multiple systems and organizations" failed and exposed Sgt. Maseth to "unacceptable risk." A summary of the IG's findings were obtained by The Associated Press.

Sgt. Maseth was electrocuted while showering when he came in contact with an energized metal shower and hose caused by the failure of an ungrounded water pump located on the roof of the building, the IG said. It says military contractor KBR Inc., based in Houston, installed the pump and adjacent water tanks.

KBR did not ground equipment during installation or report improperly grounded equipment during routine maintenance, the inspector general said. It also says KBR did not have standard operating procedures for the technical inspection of facilities.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09208/986710-84.stm

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I hope his mom's lawsuit is successful against those bastards at KBR.

[mbperrin]

1. Cannot understand how a for profit business that routinely kills US

citizens as part of its operations with no effort at improvement still is a going concern, and why aren't the managers in prison?

[MajorChode]

3. It's not just the contractors who should be in prison

It should be people like the contracting officer who managed the contract and/or that person's superiors (assuming they knew about the problem and never raised any concerns).

Someone in the military and/or DOD employees had to be aware of those problems and did nothing about it.

Gross negligence that you knew or should have known would result in injury or death should rise to the level of criminality.

[opihimoimoi]

4. By its Frequency...its history of 17 deaths,,,it becomes suspect its INTENTIONAL

The workers are often from the area....its easy to sabotage if no one is looking...I don unner stan

[Hydra]

5. Because frankly, our troops are "expendable"

I find it hideous to see those idiots in Congress talking about "supporting our troops" and crying crocodile tears even as they have KBR/Haliburton giving the troops dirty water and things like in the OP.

Judge by actions, not words.

[Captain Hilts]

2. 'Bout time! nt

[zbdent]

6. gee ... maybe if the contracting process was open for bidding

instead of just being awarded because Cheney was on the board ...

maybe this guy wouldn't have been electrocuted ...

[Shallah Kali]

7. The Nation reported back in May that KBR got BONUSES over 80 MIL! for the work that killed troops!!!

:nuke:

KBR Got Bonuses for Work that Killed Soldiers
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090601/scahill

The Department of Defense paid former Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $80 million in bonuses for contracts to install electrical wiring in Iraq. The award payments were for the very work that resulted in the electrocution deaths of US soldiers, according to Department of Defense documents revealed today in a Senate hearing. More than $30 million in bonuses were paid months after the death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated, 24-year-old Green Beret, who was electrocuted while taking a shower at a US base in January 2008. His death, the result of improper grounding for a water pump, has been classified by the US Army Criminal Investigations Division (CID) as a "negligent homicide." Maseth's death had originally been labeled an accident. Bonuses were paid to KBR in 2007 and 2008, after CID investigators had officially expressed concerns about the quality of KBR's electrical work. For its part, KBR denies any culpability for the electrocution deaths.

[undeterred]

8. 'Multiple' failures led to Iraq electrocution, Pentagon says

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Green Beret sergeant was electrocuted in Iraq in 2008 because of failures by the U.S. military and a major defense contractor, which did not properly ground and inspect electrical equipment, according to a Pentagon report out Monday.

Nine of 18 electrocution deaths reported in Iraq were caused by "improper grounding or faulty equipment," including the January 2008 death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, the Defense Department's inspector-general found. Investigations remain open in five of those cases, according to a summary of the report obtained by CNN.

The new report concluded that "multiple systems and organizations failed," leaving Maseth "exposed to unacceptable risk."

The decorated soldier from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was electrocuted in a shower at a U.S. base in Baghdad that once served as one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. The report found that a water pump installed by military contractor KBR was not grounded, leading to Maseth's electrocution when it short-circuited.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/military.electrocutions/

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Yeah, lets privatize the military because the contractors are so good at what they do. :banghead:

[HopeHoops]

9. "Multiple Failures" - Yeah, two of them - the stolen elections of 2000 and 2004 !

Halliburton killed those soldiers with shoddy work - that's blood on BushCo's collective hands.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

10. GOTTA SAVE BUSH CHENEY AND THE REST OF THE CABAL

[Mnpaul]

11. If they can't hook up a ground wire

they shouldn't be playing with electricity. It is not rocket science. They burnt down a whole camp.

[MasonJar]

12. It's so typical of Cheney/Bush as to be not needing of comment.

[hunter]

13. One failure: Greedy stupid fuck-ups at KBR.

Ignorance mixed with greed is a deadly brew.