Electrocution

In our name. (pdf)

Since the time my twins and their younger brother, Adam, entered the army, I always lived with the fear that I may face the news that one of my sons had been killed in the line of duty. On January 2, 2008, that fear was realized. What I did not expect to hear, though, was the manner of death that my son, Ryan, a decorated Army Ranger and Green Beret, experienced. While I had always been prepared to hear that one of my sons died by way of a firefight or a roadside bomb, I was dumbstruck to hear in the days following the news of my son’s death that he was electrocuted while taking a shower in his living quarters on his Army base at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad....

I have also learned that Kellogg Brown & Root knew of this very hazard since at least February 10, 2007 – 11 months before Ryan’s death – when they conducted an inspection of the facilities where Ryan lived. The deficiencies KBR noted on that date included, among others, the fact that the building’s main circuit panel, the secondary feeder panel, and the water tank were not grounded. The wiring leading into the secondary electrical panel was not sized properly for the main breakers, did not have proper thermal coating, and did not meet either U.S. or British electrical standards.

Via Susie.