» Women in Construction

KBR employee brutally raped at Joint Base Balad in Iraq(Updated)

December 4, 2009 — Ms Sparky

rape I just received this email from a reader. I have not verified the authenticity of the original email (my disclaimer) but it appears to be authentic. (UPDATE-I have received a copy of the original email with the header info and I have updated below.) I have also not been able to verify the date of the rape, but am deducing it occurred on Nov 30, 2009. (UPDATE-The date in fact was Nov 30, 2009 and the time was approx 10-11 am) In an effort to help you understand this email, I have described the acronyms used in parentheses. A Life Support Area (LSA) is a collection of living quarters consisting of buildings, tents, or trailers (CHU’s)Other than that, I have made no changes to the email.

As you read this keep in mind this is not the first brutal rape that has occurred in Iraq.

Subject: Rape of a KBR female at JBB (UNCLASSIFIED)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Some of you may have already heard about a report of a rape occurring 1100 Monday at JBB (Joint Base Balad-Balad, Iraq), in the KBR LSA (Life Support Area). This is particularly disturbing in that it happened in broad daylight, to an employee sleeping in her CHU (Containerized Housing Unit-trailer) after pulling night shift duty, possibly assailed by a maintenance worker that might have had a key to the CHU.

Some conjecture, but I’m painting a picture for us to be careful towards. The victim is in intensive care, face badly beaten, and arm possibly broken.

Please pass this to all J7 members through your own methods, and to the dangers even in broad daylight, and possibly by those having access to our CHUs. Though at JBB, VBC (Camp Victory) reportedly has between 8-20 sexual assaults per week…What might not be known is that statistically, 70-80% of these assaults are by an EODT (EOD Technologies) or KBR member, so stats are stats, please be aware of what to look out for.

SGM (Sergeant Major)- Let’s please talk tomorrow about buddy rules for females and actually all Servicemembers, Government Civilians and contractors. Thanks…

R

LTC K

JEFFREY S. KING
LTC, EN
USF-I J-7 CoS
DSN 485-2058
SVOIP 242-0193
AKO: jeffrey.s.king@us.army.mil
SIPR: jeffrey.s.king@iraq.centcom.smil.mil
AKO-S: jeffrey.s.king@us.army.smil.mil

—–Original Message—–
From: Guy LaBoa [mailto:Guy.LaBoa@kbr.com]
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 3:32 PM
To: (Removed for Privacy of Recipients)
Subject: Rape of a KBR female at approximately 1100hrs 30Nov2009 at JBB

FIRST REPORT

For all:

At approximately 1100hrs, Roger Singleton the acting PM (Project Manager) for JBB called with a report of a Sexual Assault (Rape) of a Female KBR Expat in the KBR LSA at JBB. The employee was in her Chu a sleep. She works the night shift in the HQ (Headquarters) operations cell. The employee was severely injured; her face was very badly beaten and may have a broken arm. She has worked with KBR 14months. She is currently in the hospital at JBB in intensive care. She has stated she did not know how the individual got into her room but she did not open the door. Apparently, on Thursday, a man knocked on her door and posed as a tradesman inspecting the Chu, she questions why he was there but did not report the incident. This lead is being follow up.

CID (Army Criminal Investigation Command) and Base Military Command have been notified. The appropriate actions for lock down and control of all personnel leaving the base have been taken. A 100% accountability check of our personnel with eyes on each person is complete The SCW (subcontract workers) subcontractors have been notified and are conducting a 100% accountability check . The victim has reported that she did scratch and bite the assailant. Some evidence has been recovered which may help identify the assailant who she has described a light skinned Indian male.

Roger Singleton acting PM is taking actions to ensure that all our female personnel are properly protected as they return to the Chu’s tonight and as them move around the base until this incident is closed and the assailant is caught.

Guy

Regards,

Guy LaBoa
Principal Program Manager
KBR LOGCAP III
Victory #43382
APO, AE 09344
Office: 281-669-5600
DSN: 485-3697

When I hear about a rape in Iraq I think of Jamie Leigh Jones, LaVena Johnsen or Tina Priest. But there are so many more.

If you have any information regarding this crime please come forward. I would also like the original of this email forwarded to me with date stamps and names.

Ms Sparky

IBEW Loses Sister Katharina (Kat) Engnell

November 28, 2008 — Ms Sparky

The IBEW loses Sister Katharina (Kat) Engnell, a licensed journeyman electrician from Local 46 in Seattle, Washington. Engell was electrocuted and died on the job on November 20, 2008 at the Saint Gobain glass plant.

Kat Engnell was an amazing woman. Originally from the South, Kat moved to Seattle after receiving her Masters Degree in Fine Arts. She bought a beautiful home in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood and then decided to become an electrician. She started attending the PSEJATC Apprenticeship program in 2000.

Kat was a most humble, hard working, serious electrician. Diversity and full inclusion in the electrical industry were passions of hers. The fact that a scholarship for those seeking to become Union Trades people is being funded in her name testifies to that. If you would like to donate, please make checks or money orders payable to the Katharina Engnell Memorial Schollarship Fund, Account 471001014441 at Key Bank.

Her interests included kayaking, raising hens, collecting antiques, creating and teaching art, politics, unionism, and rocking out to hippy music. If there was a party, Kat was there having a good time. She was a fantastic mechanic, intellectual, and a bohemian all in one. All who knew her can say that her kindness and generosity were boundless. She will be missed but will live on in the memories and stories of her, and in the kindness and care we show to each other in this truly dangerous field.

There is a memorial at the job site and a memorial service will be held at the IBEW Local 46 Hall in Kent, Washington on Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.

For me, the loss of any worker on the job is tragic. But the loss of an electrician is personal.

My personal condolences to Kat’s friends and family. My thanks to Nicole Grant for this information.

Ms Sparky
IBEW Local 48
Portland, Oregon

Update: The following info was taken from IBEW Local 46 website.
This item was posted on the IBEW Local 46 web site
http://www.ibew46.com/kat.html :

IBEW Local 46 Electrician, Kat Engnell, was killed at work, Thursday,
November 20, 2008, during the day shift at the Saint Gobain glass plant. Kat
was up on a metal platform, like a catwalk, doing lighting maintenance. It
is normal to work on equipment up there while it is still ‘hot’,
unfortunately, while Kat was changing out a 500W 120V fixture, after making
sure that the ground and neutrals had both been made up, she was
electrocuted and died. She was found by a Local 46 Brother working on sight
who stayed with her body until the fire crew got her down and took her away.

The following comment was left via email by a Safety professional:

I suspect that she was not wearing rubber insulating gloves, considered by
most electricians as unnecessary and too cumbersome for this type of low
voltage work.

According to 1910 subpart S
1910.333(a)(1) “Live parts to which an employee may be exposed shall be
deenergized before the employee works on or near them….” (does not apply to
circuits of 50 volts or less)
1910.333(a)(2) “If the exposed live parts are not deenergized (i.e., for
reasons of increased or additional hazards or infeasability) other
safety-related work practices shall be employed …”
1910.335(a)(1)(i) Employees working in areas where there are potential
electrical hazards shall be provided with, and shall use, electrical
protective equipment that is appropriate for the specific parts of the body
to be protected and for the work to be performed.

NFPA 70E 2009 – Table 130.7(C)(9)
Panelboards or other equipment rated 240 volts and below
Work on energized electrical conductors or circuit parts, including voltage
testing requires the use of Rubber Insulating gloves and Insulated or
Insulating Tools.

Iraq Electrical Wiring Method Quiz #2

September 5, 2008 — Ms Sparky

(more…)

IBEW Member And Mother of Soldiers Shares Concerns

August 28, 2008 — Ms Sparky

The “Electrical Worker” a monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) recently published an article spotlighting IBEW member Marijane Green, mother if two active duty Marines. This mother is seriously concerned about the safety of her sons. You can read this article entitled “Troops Endangered By Shoddy Electrical Work” by clicking HERE page 2.

Another noteworthy article in this publication is the one entitled “A National Disgrace” by IBEW International Secretary-Treasurer Lindell K. Lee. Click HERE to read it page 14.

Although the unions do not have jurisdiction outside the US and Canada we have a moral and ethical obligation to put a stop to the unsafe work practices that are putting our American Soldiers and workers at risk. To put a stop to the harassment, the threats, the intimidation tactics. Not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but ANY project funded by US tax dollars.

I have said it before and I will say it until it’s a law….”US Citizens working on US Government funded projects overseas should be afforded the same protections (OSHA and labor laws) as their co-workers in the US.” For example..New Embassy projects, new Consulates and military facilities…just to name a few. If it’s important enough to employ an American and in many cases an American with a clearance, then it’s important enough to give them OHSA and labor law protection.

Ms Sparky

Iraq Electrical Wiring Method Quiz #1

August 19, 2008 — Ms Sparky

This wiring method was such a common occurrence used by Iraqi and Turkish subcontractors that I had totally forgotten about it until someone sent me a photo. I thought it would be fun to have a quiz. So…tell me what’s wrong with this installation!!

This is a standard 230 volt switched receptacle….It is equivalent of our 110 volt receptacles in the States.

Quiz rules:

In the comments section put your username in the username section. In the email section put Quiz1@mssparky.com (this will keep the comments hidden until I approve them) I will post the comments when I send out my next newsletter, approx 3-4 days, so sign up for my newsletters. I will put my answers in the comments as well.

I NEED MORE PICS FOR THE QUIZ!!!! SEND ME MORE PICS!!!!

Ms Sparky

Attention Former and Current KBR and US Military in Iraq

August 7, 2008 — Ms Sparky

(Note to bloggers and website owners-Help me get this word out. Please link to this post.)

I have been contacted by a National US news program that is looking for people who are willing to share their experiences about the electrical conditions in their camps. Electrician experience is always welcome but you don’t have to be an electrician to tell your story. If you were/are in the Military the producer knows how to deal with that as well?

Can you answer any of these questions?

Have you ever been shocked? Or did you know of anyone that was shocked?
Were you in any camp that reported an accidental electrocution death such has the death of Chris Everett or Ryan Maseth?
What condition was your electrical in? Was is “jerry rigged”?
Was KBR responsive to service orders or maintenance requests?
Did KBR ever leave an electrical shock hazard as “not repairable”?
Did your electricians complain about not having the right tools or material to make a repair?
Were your electricians Americans?
Did your electricians seem competent?
As an electrician, were you asked/forced to work outside of your classification/area of expertise?

You may think your information is insignificant. But it could be the one piece to the puzzle that is needed. There have been 100’s of thousands of people, civilian and military, in Iraq since 2003 and yet only a handful have come forward.

It’s time to tell your story. Please forward this post to former and current KBR employees and US Military in Iraq.

Either leave a comment or send an email to mssparky@mssparky.com and ask me to forward your information to the Producer.

Ms Sparky

KBR Video – A Must See

August 5, 2008 — Ms Sparky

You watch and you decide.

The Tragedy Of Preventable Death

August 4, 2008 — Ms Sparky

I do not understand why the Department of Defense is not getting it!!! Read on….

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Editorial: Electrocutions
The tragedy of preventable death
August 4, 2008

The death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth in Iraq could have been prevented if the Army and a defense contractor had done their jobs.

Maseth, who grew up outside Pittsburgh, was electrocuted Jan. 2 while taking a shower in his quarters near Baghdad. A water pump that hadn’t been grounded properly sent electrical current through the pipes. A fellow soldier who discovered his body also was badly shocked.

The Army at first told Maseth’s grieving mother that her son had taken a small appliance into the shower.

That was false.

A congressional investigation has revealed that another soldier who had lived in the same quarters complained to the Army earlier about getting shocked in the shower. He said the current was so strong that he had to use a wooden stick to turn off the water.

The Army’s largest contractor, KBR, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, installed a new pump, according to four work orders discovered by House investigators. But a few months later, Maseth was dead.

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) has been pushing the Pentagon hard for answers, with good reason. Maseth isn’t the only soldier electrocuted in Iraq. Since 2003, as many as 16 soldiers and contractors have died from electrocution. Electrical malfunctions also have resulted in nearly 300 fires, causing more injuries.

“Sixteen deaths do not make for isolated incidents or random occurrences; they constitute a pattern and are a genuine danger to our men and women serving in Iraq,” Casey testified at a hearing last week.

A Pentagon spokesman said not all of these deaths resulted from faulty wiring; eight of the victims accidentally came into contact with low-hanging electrical lines while on patrol away from their bases.

Still, the Pentagon and KBR have not satisfactorily explained why these deaths occurred, or how they intend to prevent more fatal accidents. KBR, which has collected more than $24 billion in war contracts since the invasion of Iraq began in 2003, points the blame at the Army. That’s a disturbing lack of accountability by a contractor that continues to receive billions from U.S. taxpayers in new wartime contracts.

The Defense Department is investigating, but it has also placed KBR in charge of a new round of safety inspections. That’s a bad idea, since the contractor was responsible for ensuring the safety of the facilities in the first place.

Former KBR electricians have testified about the lack of qualified workers to perform these jobs in Iraq, lack of tools and lack of adequate supervision. Defense Secretary Robert Gates should order that inspections be performed by certified U.S. government personnel.

Accidental deaths not related to combat are an unfortunate part of every war. But the Defense Department needs to reassure soldiers and their families that it is doing everything possible to prevent routine events from having tragic consequences.

Report appears to clear KBR in soldier’s death

July 29, 2008 — Ms Sparky

This is the most recent AP news article on the Iraq Electrocutions. You read it and you tell me what you think. Here’s what I think…finally…..someone wrote one in favor of poor little ole KBR.

Report appears to clear KBR in soldier’s death
July 29, 2008 6:21 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) – An interim Defense Department report has found no evidence KBR was involved in the death of at least one U.S. soldier electrocuted in Iraq.

The inspector general’s report said while electrical systems in Iraq were known to “pose a hazard to personnel,” there is no evidence Houston-based KBR Inc. was aware of any life-threatening hazards at the Army barracks where Sgt. Ryan Maseth died.

Maseth, an Army Ranger and Green Beret from Pittsburgh, was electrocuted in January while showering.

Details of the IG report explain that an ungrounded water pump on the roof of Maseth’s barracks failed and electrified the water pipes. Additionally, a circuit breaker failed because tar from roof repairs appeared to have leaked into the panel. (more…)

My Story on “The Story” Aired Today 7/29/08

July 29, 2008 — Ms Sparky

With current media coverage on the Iraq Electrocutions and tomorrows hearings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform entitled “Deficient Electrical Systems at U.S. Facilities in Iraq” they decided to air my segment of “The Story” today.

Before I give you link….I want to say the “The Story” did and awesome job. My thanks to Jeannette. But I want to clarify one thing. I did not work at the same Palace compound that Ryan Maseth died at. With that said here is the link.

Site link – The Story – July 29, 2008

MP3 – http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_569_Iraq_Electrician.mp3

Ms Sparky

Senator Casey Wants Clarification

July 26, 2008 — Ms Sparky

For much more info on the investigation of this issue go to my

“KBR & Senate Hearing” Category

Pentagon: 16 soldiers died from electric shock
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixteen American troops have died from accidental electrocutions in Iraq, the Defense Department said Friday, more than the military has previously disclosed.
Most of the 11 Army soldiers and five Marines died during their work, including making accidental contact with power lines or those killed while performing maintenance on electrical systems, the Pentagon said. But two died while in their living facilities, including at least one soldier who was electrocuted while he took a shower. (more…)

My Story on “The Story” from American Public Media

July 25, 2008 — Ms Sparky

Well…. today was a first. I recorded a session for “The Story” an American Public Media daily national program. I had never been in a recording studio before. Didn’t have a clue what to expect or what to do. The technician John, also a licensed electrician, walked me through the process and got me used to speaking into the microphone. THANK YOU JOHN!

My special thanks the Jeannette from The Story for holding my hand and answering all my dumb questions.

The show was primarily about Iraq and my time there. I stressed how important it is to get legislation approved to protect US workers working for US contractors overseas. The same laws that protect them here…OSHA, labor laws etc, should protect them there.

At times I felt like I was just rambling, but they said they could fix all that. I hope so.

The show is schedule to air on August 5th. I will keep you posted. For times, stations or to listen via podcast, go to their website is http://thestory.org/

Ms Sparky

Senate DPC Hearing On Soldier Electrocutions – News Coverage

July 16, 2008 — Ms Sparky

This is by far the best video out there. Great job ANP! Be sure to use the full screen mode. For some reason some company networks will not show this video. If you can’t see it you may try to view it from another system…home, Starbucks, etc.

The majority of the news media ran the Associated Press Article by Suzanne Gamboa with a variety of photos such as the YAHOO NEWS article “Former KBR Electricians criticize contractors work“. (more…)

Senate DPC Hearing-Iraq Electrocutions 7-11-08 – Debbie Crawford Testimony

July 12, 2008 — Ms Sparky

I am an IBEW Local 48 Electrician. It was very difficult to keep my emotions in check after hearing the heartbreaking testimony of Cheryl Harris and Larraine McGee. I was nervous at first, then angry and by the time I read my last paragraph it was difficult to keep my emotions under control. This is my testimony. (more…)

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