Army: Dead Soldier Wore Body Armor

[unhappycamper]

Army: Dead Soldier Wore Body Armor
September 03, 2008
Colorado Springs Gazette

The Army today said all Fort Carson Soldiers wear their body armor and helmets on patrol In Iraq, including a 3rd Brigade Combat Team Soldier whose family said he was killed after being told he didn't need a protective vest for a "friendly" patrol.

The family told newspapers in Missouri and Alabama that Spc. Steven Fitzmorris was sent on a patrol last week in Baghdad without the Kevlar and steel armor because the unit was headed to a safe area. The family said the information came from "unofficial" Army sources.

Rosemarie Fitzmorris-Currier, the Soldier's mother, told The Opelika Auburn News in Alabama that the Army was also late in telling the family about the death.

"I am not going to let this story be hidden under layers of military garbage," she told the newspaper. "My son deserves better than that."

Fitzmorris-Currier and other family members couldn't be reached for comment today.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/army-dead-soldier-wore-body-armor.html?col=1186032310810

[Blaubart]

1. Is it too much to ask...

I'm new here, so I don't want to rock the boat too much, but in most of the other forums I've visited, when people post articles from various news agencies, they also post their opinion on the article or the topic at hand.

What is the story here that might get hidden beneath "layers of military garbage"?

That her son might not have been wearing his protective gear? That someone might have told her that he wasn't when he actually was? That someone failed to keep a current address on file for his mother? (When I was in the Army, that was the soldier's responsibility)

It is regrettable that her son died, but I don't find anything else in the article that has any substance.

[unhappycamper]

2. Lack of substance is not unusual for stuff coming from the military rags.

I've been doing this for a while now, and you'll sometimes see a 'uhc comment:' at the end of article - that's where I put my two cents in.