I had no idea that this happened several weeks back, and there is nothing on the Aegis company website or Army Corps of Engineers website about this death, or even the other attacks. Supposedly another contractor was killed by a sniper, and others severely wounded, but there is nothing in the news about it. If a reader could please pass on the news link to the death related to that sniper, I will definitely make an edit to this post.
The other deal with this, is that I found out about this because of a story a blogger put together, who also happens to be a contractor and artist. Perhaps he can come over and fill in some of the blanks. Good on him for at least writing the story up on this, because if it wasn’t for him, I would have never have known. I also checked the icasualties site, and others, and I could not find anything at all about these deaths. Yet again, if the Army Corps of Engineers or Aegis Defense posted a press release about this, I could have blogged about this awhile back–but there was nothing. (someone please correct me if I am wrong on this, but I found nothing in my searches)
With that in mind, if you are reading this and you are seeing no attention at all about a security contractor death in your company, or a death you heard about somewhere else, please let me know and I will put it up on the blog. I have a multitude of media folks reading FJ, and I will definitely get the word out. These are our fallen brothers, and their deaths mean something. But if know one knows that they were killed, other than their family, then no one will ever have an idea about that sacrifice.
Iraq is also at a very interesting point in the war. We are at the end there, but make no mistake about it, things are still dangerous and just because the media is not reporting it, doesn’t mean it is not happening. With the draw down, it requires a lot of road work. We are moving all this stuff out of theater, and contractors are going to be the guys doing it all–much like we were the ones that helped to bring it all in. And as we see Iraq take more of the security duties, and Coalition forces take less, the possibility for attacks only increase, because the insurgency feels it has a better chance of getting in a punch or two as we are leaving. Watch yourselves out there. –Matt
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Wakefield bomb blast victim had just delivered baby
20 March 2010
By Stuart Robinson
A SECURITY contractor was killed in an explosion in Iraq just three months after delivering his baby daughter in the kitchen of his home.
Ex-Marine and father-of-two Robbie Napier, 36, from Wakefield, died after the explosion this month.
On Friday, his grieving father told the YEP that just last Christmas he had returned home and delivered his baby daughter at his family home in Stanley.
An inquest in Wakefield into his death heard that Mr Napier was a front seat passenger in the front of a three-vehicle convoy on March 10.
Coroner’s officer Anthony Lancaster told the hearing: “Mr Napier sustained fatal injuries in an explosion of a detonated explosive device.”
The court heard that following the explosion in Baghdad Mr Napier was taken to a nearby base but was pronounced dead a short time later.