Soldiers killed in Iraq, but not by guns

Cheryl Harris and Larraine McGee lost their two sons in Iraq, but they were not killed in combat; they were electrocuted because of faulty electrical equipment built and maintained by Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR) contractors. Before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, the mothers told their tragic stories about the reckless and complacent behavior of KBR employees that lead to their sons’ deaths.

Harris’ son, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, was electrocuted while taking a shower in his barracks at the Radwaniyah Complex in Iraq in 2008. McGee’s son, Stagg Sgt. Christopher Everett, died while power-washing a Humvee in Al Taqqadum, Iraq in 2005. 13 soldiers have been electrocuted to death because of KBR contractor incompetence and lack of accountability.

At first, Army officials could not answer Harris when she asked how her son was killed, Harris said. The building’s main circuit panel, the secondary panel, and the water tank were not grounded, Harris said. Shockingly, KBR’s electrician had known about these hazards 11 months before her son was killed. According to Harris, in October 2004, another soldier in Iraq died in almost the exact same way. The Army report about Sgt. Christopher Everett’s death stated that the generator supplying electricity to the power washer was improperly grounded.

Debbie Crawford, former KBR electrician, noted that when she was working in Iraq, basic tools such as electrical tape and wire nuts were sometimes scarce. Many KBR employees supervising the electrical contractors did not have any electrical experience at all. At one point, Crawford noticed a ground wire, which is supposed to protect people from getting electrocuted, being used as a “hot” wire, mentioned it to her foreman, and he told her to “make it work and don’t worry about.” Nobody asked to see her license, checked her job references, or gave her a qualification test when she applied for the job.

Rachel McNeill, former heavy construction equipment operator in Iraq, said that when she first got to Iraq, soldiers in her house had been shocked in the shower. KBR was in charge of maintenance and repairs. In order to fix the water heater, McNeill was supposed to submit a work order, which would take days to go through. But an electrician from another platoon fixed it in half an hour.