Posted on 10/04/2007 6:27:03 AM PDT by BenLurkin
(CBS) QUINCY, Mass. A soldier killed in Afghanistan last week told her family they should press for answers if anything happened to her, reports CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston.
Spc. Ciara Durkin, 30, of Quincy, Mass., was shot in the head last week outside a chapel near her office at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense reported Durkin was not killed in action.
Durkin's sister, Fiona Canavan, told the Patriot Ledger on Wednesday that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told her about something she had come across that raised some concern with her.
"She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it.' Then she said, in her lighthearted way, 'If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,''' Canavan told the paper.
According to the Ledger, Durkin was openly gay, but her family does not think her sexual orientation had anything to do with her death. Earlier newspaper reports indicated that the Durkin family said she may have been a target because she was gay.
Durkin's family told WBZ-TV on Tuesday that suicide is impossible. "She was at her proudest moment in her life, serving the U.S. Army, knowing two-thirds of her time in Afghanistan was over," said Canavan.
Circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, officials said. But, according to Durkin's family, the military is not being very forthcoming with information.
The Durkin family has now asked the Irish government to get involved. Ciara was born in Ireland before arriving in the Boston area when she was a child.
Durkin was assigned to Task Force Diamond as part of a finance unit deployed to Afghanistan last November.
“I wonder that too. Lesbian or not, she was a U.S. Soldier who was shot in the head, who also gave family members warning that she might be in danger.”
and at Bagram, which should be fairly secured.
Pleading the Fifth.
'Til I get home. ;-)
Close. Now make the gay-bashers devout Christians, the good guys members of the Taliban, and work into the screenplay the need for socialized medicine.
“What did you know, and when did you stop knowing it?”
You’re so good at that that it scares me.
Perhaps I watch too much television.
It wasn’t meant as an allegation. It was to show why someone should step forward when enough details have been established to move up the chain of command and file a complaint. But sometimes you need to determine the players first so you don’t tip off those who are in on something.
The government won’t pay for your defense and so even the whistleblower (or second person who was “planning” to blow the whistle) could be asked to defend why (s)he didn’t step forward “sooner”.
There are several valid reasons why people don't step forward in a specified timeframe and still being in country is one of them.
This story alone should be enough to substantiate that, don't you think?
Me too. A very bad feeling that she uncovered corruption that went right up the food chain.
you're also smart to document everything especially invoices, chits or any paper with a signature on it.
Even a photocopy (scanned copy nowadays) will help.
Anytime you've got millions of dollars of payroll, equipment and supplies laying around and some free time there are rats in every branch of the service. I've seen some funny procurement in and around supply depots as well as airports.
None of my business and just get me where I need to go with ammo and food...I was a happy boy.
It is sad to hear of any death of a soldier. Blessings to the family of Specialist Durkin and hope that the killer is found and brought to justice. I also hope that her concerns are investigated and any involved in corruption are brought to justice.
It is good to hear that the family has said that reports that focused on issues outside of her service assignment are not the issue in her death. It shows a loving family concerned that their loved ones wishes are followed in matters that the young soldier was dedicated to support.
Of course.
I am no longer associated with the people who pulled stuff. I got out as soon as I smelled rats. And things have been reported upwards by others.
I'm with a very decent, ethical organization now and it's refreshing after experiencing just how slimy some people can get.
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