Widow Raising New Questions About Electrocutions in Iraq

Husband Died While Showering in Baghdad
Carol Han – November 25, 2009

Adam's widow Janine Hermanson

WASHINGTON — It appears as if 18 deaths, a congressional probe and new military marching orders were not enough to end a rash of electrocutions in Iraq.

Now, a Pennsylvania woman is demanding accountability after her husband, an Air Force veteran and military contractor, died in a Baghdad shower Sept. 1. Adam Hermanson’s death comes less than two years after a Pittsburgh soldier, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, was electrocuted while taking a shower in Iraq.

Janine Hermanson, of Muncy, Pa., says that for the past two months, she has been getting the runaround from military investigators and Triple Canopy, the Defense Department contractor that hired her husband.

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“It’s so frustrating,” Janine Hermanson said. “All I want to know is what happened to him and why it happened to him but no one can tell me. No one seems to care to tell me.”

Janine Hermanson’s search for answers started not long after she received a phone call from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Hermanson says the woman on the phone told her there was no foul play involved.

It’s the same point repeated in a letter she received from the U.S Embassy in Iraq dated Sept. 1. In it, Jennifer Tierney, chief of American Citizen Services, writes: “There is no indication of any foul play or unusual circumstances.”

Read the entire letter HERE.

“I didn’t understand,” Janine Hermanson said. “He didn’t have any medical problems. No health problems.”

The mystery was solved a few days later when Adam Hermanson’s body was shipped to Dover Air Force Base. Janine says there were burn marks on his body, and the military medical examiner who performed the autopsy told her that the cause of death was likely low-voltage electrocution.

Janine immediately contacted the U.S. Criminal Investigation Command (CID), the special Army task force looking into Adam’s death.

In an email to Janine dated Nov. 23, Special Agent Jeff Lange from the Army CID in Carlisle, Pa., wrote that the investigation has shown that Triple Canopy — Adam’s employer — “appears to be solely responsible for the operations and maintenance” of the camp where Adam lived. Lange also said that an inspection performed after Adam’s death shows the electricity in his building was not grounded or bonded. “The investigation is seeking to identify whether any criminality was involved in Adam’s death,” Lange wrote.

Janine says that several major questions remain unanswered. First, why wasn’t she initially told about the electrocution? Who was the contractor who put in the building’s electricity and plumbing? Who is ultimately responsible for Adam’s death?

These are all questions Janine put in writing to the CID. The answer she received from Special Agent Lange: “[these] are some of the questions the investigation is seeking to answer.”

Janine says she felt like she got the brush-off and that her inquiries to Triple Canopy were even less fruitful.

“I’m so tired of people not talking to me and people ignoring me and not giving me answers,” Janine said. “I try really hard not to go off on people, but it’s getting harder.”

We contacted Triple Canopy for information on Adam’s death.

Spokesman Gregory Vistica sent us the following statement: “Following the tragic death of Adam Hermanson in Baghdad, Iraq on the morning of September 1, 2009, Triple Canopy immediately notified the appropriate authorities and cooperated with investigators…. So far, Mrs. Hermanson and Triple Canopy have received conflicting information from the government regarding the investigation. The company understands the government’s desire to be methodical in its investigation, but looks forward to its conclusion.”

Janine isn’t buying this, which is why she’s thankful to be getting guidance from the one woman who knows exactly what she’s going through.

Cheryl Harris lost her son, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, in January 2008, when he was electrocuted in a shower in Baghdad. Initially, she was led to believe that the incident had been his fault because she was told Ryan had carried a small appliance into the shower. A subsequent investigation found that faulty wiring was to blame.

“I almost feel that she’s motherly, or like a best friend,” said Janine. “I speak to her everyday, and she’s my biggest supporter.”

Harris encouraged Janine to take her case to Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who championed her cause by holding congressional hearings. He also pushed the Defense Department to create a special task force to re-inspect all 90,000 U.S. facilities in Iraq. Problem is, not all contractors were required to fix the dangerous deficiencies discovered. So earlier this month, Casey sponored an amendment that forces the military to close this loophole.

“This isn’t that difficult, the Department of Defense has to insist on that,” Casey said. “They shouldn’t have to wait for language from me or anyone else to get this done!”

Janine and Adam met when they were both serving in the Air Force. They were both deployed to Iraq, Uzbekistan and Kuwait before Janine left the military in January 2007. Adam did one more tour before leaving in October 2008.

They were planning to settle down in the Williamsport area, but when there wasn’t enough money to buy a house, Adam decided to go back to Baghdad in July, but this time as a civilian working for a defense contractor.

He died less than a week before what would have been his fourth wedding anniversary.

“I miss everything,” said Janine, wiping tears from her eyes. “I just hate that I can’t call him now to say that I love him.” (click HERE for original article)

It is absolutely ridiculous the DoD and Triple Canopy are stringing Janine along. There is someone out there who has the answers for his woman. Man up and do what Adam would want you to do. Tell the truth!

Janine is not alone. She is surrounded by supportive family, friends, fellow victims and bloggers. We will find the truth!

Ms Sparky