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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Army 'Warned on Wiring' Before Soldier's Electrocution

Sergeant filed work order after being shocked in the shower

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(Newser) – A sergeant warned Army administrators about faulty wiring months before a soldier was electrocuted in a shower at the same quarters, CNN reports. "Pipes have voltage, get shocked in the shower," he wrote in a work order. A House committee probing the electrocution deaths in Iraq had previously heard there was no evidence the Pentagon or contractor KBR knew of electrical problems at the facility.

A KBR executive blamed the accidents on the Army. "The reality is that KBR's actions were not the cause of any of these terrible accidents," he told investigators. "The responsibility lies with the Army."

This undated photo shows Cheryl Harris with her son Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth. Ryan, 24, was electrocuted in his shower in Iraq on Jan. 2, 2008.
This undated photo shows Cheryl Harris with her son Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth. Ryan, 24, was electrocuted in his shower in Iraq on Jan. 2, 2008.   (AP Photo)
US soldiers from Gator Company 2-12 Infantry Battalion set up their first shower stalls in an old Iraqi shop at their combat outpost in this 2007 file photo.
US soldiers from Gator Company 2-12 Infantry Battalion set up their first shower stalls in an old Iraqi shop at their combat outpost in this 2007 file photo.   (Getty Images)
Cheryl Harris testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, July 11, 2008, before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing looking into electrocution deaths of troops in Iraq.
Cheryl Harris testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, July 11, 2008, before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing looking into electrocution deaths of troops in Iraq.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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KBR denies responsibility for electrocutions
Houston Chronicle

Pentagon: Electrocutions have killed 16 troops
AFP

Documents contradict Department of Defense report
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


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