SIGIR - Casualties in Iraq

Via David Isenberg, a new report from the SIGIR.

Special Report Number 2:
The Human Toll of Reconstruction or Stabilization during Operation Iraqi Freedom PDF
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
July 27, 2012

Excerpt from page 5

We accounted for at least 198 people kidnapped while working on U.S.-supervised
reconstruction or stabilization projects. USACE reported at least 148 Iraqis kidnapped while working on USACE reconstruction projects from May 2006-December 2007. USAID reports identified 42 Iraqis as well as 8 third-country nationals kidnapped while working on USAID projects from 2004-2010. We do not know how many of these kidnap victims were taken simply because of their involvement with U.S. reconstruction efforts or how many were later freed.

The math above: 198 people kidnapped - 148 Iraqis - 42 Iraqis - 8 TCN =  0 kidnapped Americans

The table of Americans Missing in Iraq lists at minimum 46 abductions in Iraq between 2003 - 2012. Certainly not all of those were related to reconstruction. But to imply there were none - zip - is just ludicrous.

Dead Contractors

For those who follow issues regarding overseas contractors, there's a new in-depth report on casualties and contingency contracting just published. A draft is available for reading. For the initiated, it's mostly familiar territory.

Dead Contractors (click the download link for PDF)
The Unexamined Effect of Surrogates on the Public's Casualty Sensitivity
By Steven L. Schooner & Colin D. Swan
Journal of National Security Law & Policy, forthcoming 2011

It's nice to see casualty data and a request for an honest debate on the role of contractors in US military operations all in one place. But given politics at home over the last ten years, an open and honest debate is unlikely to occur.

There's only a passing mention to missing personnel in some footnotes.

Defense Base Act Case Summary - page 48

My cynicism says nothing will change until the oxes are gored of those who wage war from behind their desk chairs .

Timothy E Bell - missing 7 years

This weekend marks the seven year anniversary since the disappearance of Timothy E. Bell of Mobile, Alabama. On Saturday, his family will be holding a memorial service in his honor.

Bell was abducted in Iraq on April 9, 2004 when the fuel convoy he was driving in was hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack outside of Baghdad. Nine Americans were killed and at least 17 were injured. Thomas Hamill, truck convoy commander, was taken hostage and later set free by US forces. The remains of SSG Keith "Matt" Maupin, also missing after the attack, were eventually identified. Timothy Bell is the only member of his convoy who has not been accounted for.

Bell is the father of three and previously served in the US Army. He was planning to be married in the summer of 2004. At the time of his disappearance, Bell was a 43-year-old electrician for Halliburton subsidiary KBR.

My sincere condolences to his friends and family.

Memorial Service For Contractor Missing In Iraq
by Jessica Taloney, WKRG, April 07, 2011

April 9 at 10 am
Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church
304 Sengstak Street
Mobile, Alabama

Timothy Edward Bell - obituary
Mobile Press-Register
April 9, 2011

DBA Summary Reports at the Dept of Labor

New feature over at the Department of Labor - Defense Base Act Summary Reports. And for unknown reasons, Ultra Services is not listed, neither for the disappearance of Kirk von Ackermann nor the drive-by shooting deaths of Ryan Manelick nor his Iraqi driver. Three distinct casualties just don't exist in the Department of Labor records.

Department of Labor
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Defense Base Act Summary Reports
DBA Reports by Employer
September 1, 2001 through December 31, 2010

Easy to assume it was a simple bureaucratic oversight. But here's the really strange part. A similar summary report was circulating among those who follow overseas contracting issues a few years back. And at that time, Ultra Services was included. Why did the Department of Labor decide to exclude Ultra Services?

Are any other casualties missing?

Defense Base Act/War Hazards Act Summary by Employer for Iraq
Department of Labor
As of 08/08/2006, page 7

Page 7

I first came across the 2006 Summary Report at the website for American Contractors in Iraq:
http://americancontractorsiniraq.com/files/contractor-deaths1.pdf

State Department Statistics

The US Department of State website includes a search feature for Death of U.S. Citizens Abroad by Non-Natural Causes. It appears that the murder of Ryan Manelick on December 14, 2003 is in the database. The presumed death of Kirk von Ackermann on the day of his disappearance, October 9, 2003, is not.

Death of U.S. Citizens Abroad by Non-Natural Causes
US Department of State
Data is available from October 2002 to June 2010

A screen cap for December 14, 2003 is shown below.

The search results show the name of the area as 'Addujayal, Iraq' which in all likelihood is the town of al Dujail - just to the south west of what was then Camp Anaconda (now known as Joint Base Balad). The map below shows the region.


View al Dujail, Iraq in a larger map

I am making my way through the events recorded in the database trying to pair up deaths with known kidnappings.

PTSD

This is so looooong overdue. Hopefully this also means the VA will actually receive whatever funding it needs for PTSD treatment. Otherwise, disability payments will just lead to warehousing sick veterans without the medical treatment they need too.

V.A. Is Easing Rules to Cover Stress Disorder
By James Dao, New York Times, July 7, 2010

The government is preparing to issue new rules that will make it substantially easier for veterans who have been found to have post-traumatic stress disorder to receive disability benefits, a change that could affect hundreds of thousands of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

The ratio of contractors to military personnel in Iraq was 1:1 - so I gotta ask, who is watching out for the contractors?

Foreign Affairs Manual - hostage and missing

The US Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) includes sections on hostages and missing persons that I thought were worth including here.

U.S. Department of State

Foreign Affairs Manual

Volume 7 - Consular Affairs:
7 FAM 1820 Hostage Taking and Kidnappings (PDF)
7 FAM 150 Missing Persons (PDF)

I'm of the opinion that the US government should have a dedicated office for hostage affairs/missing persons of US citizens abroad. It would have a core of permanent staff in addition to representatives from US government agencies such as the FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense (POW-MIA, Casualty Affairs, Criminal Investigation Division, etc). One of the things the office should be responsible for is coordinating regulations and reporting requirements by publishing an annual manual.

Just a thought.

1457 Civilian Contractors Have Died in Iraq

AP reporting 1,457 civilian employees have died in Iraq as of December 31, 2010. The article doesn't include information on kidnappings and/or missing Americans.

It's worth pointing out something peculiar about that particular figure of 1,457: it's apparently been revised down from 1,459 reported in February. (Not sure what that means in terms of where the discrepancy originated.)

Iraq: Key figures since the war began
By The Associated Press, March 1, 2010

Deaths of civilian employees of US government contractors as of December 31, 2009: 1,457.

Also see:

Iraq: Key figures since the war began (link expired)
By The Associated Press, Washington Post, February 1, 2010

Deaths of civilian employees of U.S. government contractors as of December 31, 2009: 1,459

DoD Instruction 1300.18 - update

Wonk stuff.

New language and some new policies added as per 'Change 1' on August 14, 2009 to existing DoD Instruction 1300.18 aka "Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies, and Procedures" (See red text within the instruction for changes/additions/deletions) Enclosure 10 is the one I'm most interested in - 'Procedures for Notifying the Military Service Casualty Offices of Death Investigations.' It appears to be an entirely new addition to 1300.18.

Enclosure 10 is on the last page, page 62. Unfortunately, the language is a bit 'fuzzy' regarding who exactly is covered as 'authorized' 'personnel accompanying' US Armed Forces. For now, let's assume it covers private contractors.

(A note on fuzziness, I do find it fascinating that a bureaucracy as large as the Department of Defense isn't more narrow and specific in their use of language. It's like they don't do a simple cross check of their own terminology. Odd that.

Anyway...

DoD Instruction 1300.18 (PDF)
"Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies, and Procedures"
From the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, January 8, 2008
- replacing DoD Instruction 1300.18, “Military Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies, and Procedures,” December 18, 2000 (hereby canceled)

E10. ENCLOSURE 10

PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFYING THE MILITARY SERVICE CASUALTY OFFICES OF DEATH INVESTIGATIONS

When an investigation into the cause or circumstances surrounding the death of a military member or DoD civilian employee who becomes a fatality while accompanying military personnel in the field or as a result of military-related actions is initiated, the appropriate Military Service Casualty Headquarters Office shall be notified immediately. At a minimum, the Casualty Office shall be provided written confirmation containing:

a. The name of the DoD organization conducting the investigation.
b. The type of investigation being conducted.
c. The existence of any reports by the investigating organization that have been or will be issued as a result of the investigation.
d. A point of contact within the investigating organization that can provide information on the status of the completion of any investigative reports.
e. The procedures for family members to obtain a copy of the completed report(s), to the extent such reports may be furnished consistent with sections 552 and 552a of Reference (h), and to obtain assistance in obtaining a copy of the completed report(s).
f. The procedures for family members to obtain answers to their questions on the completed investigation from a fully qualified representative.

At one point I contacted the Department of Defense to clarify some of the conflicting language within the Instruction and how it relates to the Missing Persons Act (see related posts below). Spoke at some length with a very nice man from Public Affairs who unfortunately, really didn't understand the core policy discrepancies within the Instruction. That wasn't really surprising given the wonkish nature of the subject but what was a shock was to learn there's only one person -- O.N.E. -- in all of Mortuary Affairs who can answer policy questions. Two wars, not to mention smaller conflicts - just one man. Obviously, he's a bit busy. Unfortunately, that also meant too busy to answer any of my questions.

Previous related posts

Defense Base Act vs War Hazards Compensation Act - non-hostile vs hostile Type of Casualty

Casualty Status of Missing - looks at Status and Category of a Casualty in DoD Instruction 1300.18

Iraq Contractors and The Missing Persons Act - outlines legal obligations of the US government

Contractor Fatalities as of September 2008

From the Associated Press:

Deaths of civilian employees of U.S. government contractors as of Sept 30, 2008: 1,264

No mention of injuries or missing personnel. 

As a side note, while I was at the Defense Base Act conference in Washington DC, I spoke with someone from the Department of Labor about missing persons. His words, "we can't prove it, but we know there must be more than reported." By "we," he meant the Department of Labor. 

According to the person I spoke with, the Department of Labor is aware that in some circumstances, employers continue paying the full salary of a kidnapped or missing employee rather than file a report or claim. There's some logic behind this. For one, employers want to keep a low profile and keep their company name out of the news media. Two, keeping an individual's names out of the news may aid with recovery especially in dealing with ransom demands. Three, families facing an already stressful situation want some privacy. 

Pretty much, no one really knows how many Americans are missing in Iraq today. 

Reference

Iraq: Key figures since the war began
Julie Reed and Rhonda Shafner, Associated Press, December 1, 2008

Contractor Casualties: An Update

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently held a hearing, Defense Base Act Insurance: Are Taxpayers Paying Too Much? on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Tucked into the Supplemental Information on Defense Base Act Insurance Costs are recent casualty numbers on contractor fatalities and injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, taken from two reports by the Department of Labor dated April 2, 2008.

• Department of Labor, Defense Base/War Hazards Act Summary by Nation for Afghanistan (Apr. 2, 2008)
• Department of Labor, Defense Base/War Hazards Act Summary by Nation for Iraq (Apr. 2, 2008)

However, the numbers cited in the Supplemental are not broken out by nation. And at best, they are only a minimum.

Contractor Casualties as of April 2, 2008

1,292 killed
9,610 wounded

Kirk von Ackermann and Ryan Manelick are not included in those figures.

Regarding DBA insurance? It's a cash cow for insurers.

The new Defense Authorization Bill passed in the House, H.R. 5658, includes an Amendment "...requiring that DOD implement a new approach to purchasing DBA insurance within the next 18 months." So far, I have been unable to locate the full text language but it's certainly a very long overdue step in the right direction. Hopefully, the Amendment will make it through the Senate and into the final version of the bill.

Contractor Casualties - 1,001

LancasterOnline has a blog by Gil Smart, Smart Remarks. Smart is associate editor and columnist for the Sunday News in Lancaster, PA. The blog post links to Daniel Halpern's in-depth article in the Rolling Stone, Death of a Contractor.

Who killed Ryan Manelick?
by Gil Smart, Smart Remarks, LancasterOnline, August 9th, 2007

Ryan Manelick died at age 31 in 2003, a victim - or so it has seemed - of the then-nascent Iraqi insurgency. The Conestoga Valley graduate, an Air Force vet, was in Iraq as a contractor; and more than 400 contractors have died at the hands of insurgents since the war began.

The Department of Labor just released new contractor casualty figures based on claims filed under the Defense Base Act.

Labor Dept: 1,001 contractors have died in Iraq
by David Ivanovich, Houston Chronicle, August 8, 2007

In response to a request from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., the Labor Department revealed that 1,001 civilian contractors had died in Iraq as of June 30, including 84 during the second quarter of the year.

So far in 2007, at least 231 contractors working for U.S. firms have died in Iraq.

Those contractor fatalities are in addition to the 3,668 military personnel the Defense Department had confirmed dead in Iraq from the start of the war in March 2003 until today.

On a related note, several of us at ePluribus Media have started a new project using their Timelines database: a list of contractors who have died while working in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's currently in beta format as we continue to adjust data fields to meet the needs of this new Timeline. Ryan Manelick and Kirk von Ackermann are both included.

e Pluribus Media Contractor Casualty Timeline