Soldiers Dying By Electrocution In Iraq

At least 12 soldiers in Iraq have been killed by electrocution. One of those was a soldier from Pittsburgh who died by a jolt of electricity while taking a shower. A U.S. House committee chairman has started an investigation into the deaths.

Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform says that Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked to turn over documents relating to the management of electrical systems at military facilities in Iraq. On January 2 Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24 died while taking a shower at his barracks in Baghdad. His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit on this past Wednesday against KBR Inc., the Houston company that is a contractor that maintains the barracks in Iraq. The lawsuit against KBR alleges that the company continued to use electrical systems "which KBR knew to be dangerous and knew had caused prior instances of electrocution."

"I expected that if I lost one of my sons (in the war), it would be due to an IED or firefight," Maseth's mother, Cheryl Harris, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I never expected to hear he would be electrocuted, that something so senseless happened to him."

Since 2003 there have been at least 12 service men killed because of faulty electrical systems resulting in electrocutions. In 2004 the Army issued a safety alert that noted that five soldiers had died because of improper grounding. Waxman has requested reports on all of the victims. The Maseth family received a memo on Jan. 21 that stated the Chinese-made pump was acquired before KBR took over maintenance of the building and did not meet U.S. safety standards. KBR has not comments on the lawsuit but is cooperating with the agencies investigating the soldier's death. KBR once was owned by Halliburton Co. the oil service that at one time was led by Vice President Cheney.