Suicide claimed 19 Canadian soldiers in 2014

Suicide claimed 19 Canadian soldiers in 2014, military says
Torstar News Service
By Staff
January 29, 2015

A photo of Cpl. Stuart Langridge is seen along with his beret and medals on a table during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on October 28, 2010. He was one of the soldiers who suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder and killed himself.

OTTAWA—There were 19 suicides among soldiers serving in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2014, one of the highest levels in the last decade, new figures show.

There were 16 suicides among regular force males and another three suicides among reservists though some deaths remain under investigation, said Brig.-Gen. Jean-Robert Bernier, surgeon general for the Canadian Armed Forces. There were no suicides among female regular force members in 2014.

That compares to the 13 suicides last year and is topped only by the 25 deaths in 2011 and 22 deaths in 2009, according to Defence Department statistics that date back to 2004.

In the Commons Wednesday, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair asked about the recent death of Sgt. Jesse Tait, based at CFB Shilo in Manitoba.

“Sgt. Tait was struggling with depression. His mother says that when he went for help, he was turned away,” Mulcair said.
read more here

Convicted Ex-Cops Stole Medications From Sick

Married Ex-Cops Sorry About Crimes, But Get 3 Years in Prison
Times of San Diego
POSTED BY ALEXANDER NGUYEN
JANUARY 30, 2015

“These two have betrayed the badge,” the prosecutor said. “They were wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

Two married former San Diego police officers who broke into people’s homes while on duty and stole prescription painkillers to feed their drug addictions were each sentenced Friday to three years in state prison.

Bryce Charpentier, 32, and Jennifer Charpentier, 42, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to commit a burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime — possession and sale of a controlled substance — selling or furnishing a narcotic substance and possession of a firearm by an addict.

The Charpentiers admitted sending text messages to each other in order to set up burglaries in which they stole prescription drugs from people with whom they had contact while on duty. The defendants also admitted stealing Hydrocodone and selling the drug, even taking one of their four children along on one of the deliveries, authorities said.

Bryce Charpentier — a six-year SDPD veteran — apologized to the San Diego Police Department and the community for his actions, saying he became addicted to painkillers because of post-traumatic stress disorder along with disc, hip and spinal pain.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Tag, arguing for a seven-year prison term for Jennifer Charpentier and six years in prison for her husband, said the defendants stole from the sick in order to get high.

“These two have betrayed the badge,” the prosecutor said. “They were wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
read more here

Camp Pendleton Afghanistan Veteran Marine Trial Ends

Former Camp Pendleton Marine gets 11 years in prison for DUI crash that killed 3 fellow servicemen
Orange County Register
Sean Emery
January 30, 2015

Arguing that Hale's drinking was an attempt to self-medicate in order to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences in heavy combat in Sangin, Afghanistan,

Jared Hale, a former Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant convicted of a drunken-driving crash that killed three of his fellow Marines, listens as he is sentenced at the West Justice Center in Westminster on Friday.
KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A former Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant convicted of killing three other servicemen in a drunken-driving crash was sentenced Friday to more than a decade in prison, as an Orange County Superior Court judge denied his request for treatment rather than time behind bars.

Jared Hale, 27, told Judge Terri K. Flynn-Peister that for the rest of his life he will have to live with the loss of Sgt. Jeremiah Callahan, 23; Cpl. Christopher Arzola, 21; and Cpl. Jason Chleborad, 22, all of whom suffered fatal injuries in the 2012 crash in Dana Point.

"It's been a rough five years," Hale said, his voice unsteady with apparent emotion. "But there is just not much left of me, honestly."
read more here

Fort Bragg: Marine's Death Caused By "Malfunction"

Report: Cause of Marine’s death on Fort Bragg similar to previous seat malfunctions
Fayetteville Observer
By Amanda Dolasinski
Published: Friday, January 30, 2015

Marine Lance Cpl. Steven J. Szymanski reached over the front seat of a light armored vehicle to grab his helmet.

In doing so, the lever that raises the seat was accidentally triggered and Szymanski was trapped with his neck between the back of the driver’s seat and the ceiling of the vehicle.

At least 15 minutes passed before a fellow Marine found Szymanski and pulled him out. By then, according to officials, it was too late.

A 147-page report obtained Thursday by the Observer details the Marine’s accidental death on Fort Bragg last year and shows that at least 11 other Marines from his unit had experienced similar seat malfunctions.
read more here

Fort Hood 5 Non-Combat Soldier Deaths Since December

Fort Hood: Soldier Found Dead In Off-Post Residence 
KWTX News
January 27, 2015

FORT HOOD

Fort Hood Tuesday identified a soldier who was found dead Saturday in his off-post residence in Killeen, as Spc. Joshua Avery Snapp, 30, of Spartanburg, S.C.

Snapp was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:55 p.m. Saturday.

Snapp joined the Army in January 2010 and in June 2010 arrived at Fort Hood where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

He deployed to Afghanistan from October 2012 to July 2013.

Killeen police are investigating the death.


Spc. Jason Krusczynski, 35, was found dead on January 27th.

Spc. Kendrick Vernell Sneed, 24, January 13, 2015

Cpt. Jonathan Nyle Muniz, 42, Rocky Ford Colorado, January 11, 2015

Sgt. 1st Class Keith Robert Tucker, 37, Virginia, December 18, 2014