Misconduct rarely found in servicemember deaths

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Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Brendan Mack, left, and Seaman Lonnie Davis Jr. with friends.


Misconduct rarely found in servicemember deaths
By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, March 15, 2010

NAPLES, Italy — More than two years ago, two U.S. sailors were found dead in a hotel room in Ghana, each lying unresponsive on a double bed after a night spent ringing in the New Year.

Autopsies blamed the deaths on “mixed drug and alcohol intoxication” and indicated the presence of heroin and cocaine. A command investigation determined it was “highly probable” the sailors acquired and ingested the illegal narcotics.

It also ruled that Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Brendan Mack, 22, and Seaman Lonnie Davis Jr., 35, died in the line of duty.

Such line-of-duty findings are not unusual, officials say, because the military sets a very high bar for ruling that troops died of their own misconduct — a practice that allows families to collect full survivor benefits but can leave them struggling to understand the circumstances of their loved one’s death.

“It’s very frustrating that, after two years, there are no answers,” said Mack’s father, Daniel. “Someone may have doctored their drinks; they may have been targeted because they were Americans.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=68689