In October 2004, the United States Army Corps of Engineers issued an urgent bulletin to commanders across Iraq, warning them of a deadly new threat to . Because of flawed electrical work by contractors, the bulletin stated, soldiers at American bases in Iraq had received severe electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted.

According to the Pentagon and Congressional investigators, at least two more American soldiers have been electrocuted in similar circumstances since the warning was issued.. In all, at least a dozen American military personnel have been electrocuted in Iraq, 

During his two tours of duty serving as a special forces soldier in Iraq, Ryan D. Maseth had cheated death on more than a few occasions including one incident, in December 2005, where he escaped injury while protecting a polling place after he ran towards enemy fire attempting to help his fellow soldiers repel an attack after their Humvee was hit with a improvised explosive device (IED).

Maseth, 24, of Shaler, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, was electrocuted on Jan. 2 when an improperly grounded electric water pump short-circuited and flowed through the pipes. Since the coiled hose was touching his arm, he was hit with an electrical jolt and went into cardiac arrest and died.

Little did the staff sergeant know that when he stepped into the shower at his military base in Baghdad that day, two months ago, that he was putting his life at risk.  

Keep in mind that his military base was supposed to be a place of refuge, safe from the enemy!

Unless of course the enemy is KBR, the Houston-based defense contractor that is responsible for maintaining American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan,

One electrician warned his KBR bosses in his 2005 letter of resignation that unsafe electrical work was “a disaster waiting to happen.” Another said he witnessed an American soldier in Afghanistan receiving a potentially lethal shock. A third provided e-mail messages and other documents showing that he had complained to KBR and the government that logs were created to make it appear that nonexistent electrical safety systems were properly functioning.

KBR itself told the Pentagon in early 2007 about unsafe electrical wiring at a base near the Baghdad airport, but no repairs were made. Less than a year later, a soldier was electrocuted in a shower there.

It appears that a whole of talking was taking place with very little action taken to solve the problem, a problem that could have been easily made moot if sombody would have taken action instead of finger pointing.!  

Now we couldn’t end this article with the stereotypical “non-denial denial”  by KBR which is always given to avoid responsibility, except of course to the stockholders of Halliburton

For its part, KBR, which until last year was known as Kellogg, Brown and Root and was a subsidiary of Halliburton, denied that any lapses by the company had led to the electrocutions of American soldiers. “KBR’s commitment to employee safety and the safety of those the company serves is unwavering,” said a spokeswoman, Heather Browne. “KBR has found no evidence of a link between the work it has been tasked to perform and the reported electrocutions.”

HERE ARE ADDITIONAL RELEVENT ARTICLES:

• Greg Mitchell: My Friend’s Son Killed in Iraq: By Contractors and …
• KBR and A Case of Inadequate Oversight
• Despite Alert, Flawed Wiring Still Kills GI’s
• Contractors Still Electrocuting Troops