Soldier who told family to investigate if killed, is shot in the head

[Stark]

I think she got fragged...



Movie:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f5c_1191574173

Ciara Durkin warned her family before returning to Afghanistan, "If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated."

What seemed a joke at the time could have been eerily prescient as Durkin, a National Guard specialist, was found dead, shot once in the head, within the fortified walls of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The Pentagon is releasing no details aside from confirmation that Durkin's was a "non-combat" death.

"We just want full disclosure," Durkin's sister Deirdre said on CBS's Early Show Thursday.

Now Durkin's family is demanding an independent investigation and has enlisted the help of Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, who represent their home state of Massachusetts.

Although Durkin was gay, her family does not believe her death had anything to do with that. But Durkin, who worked in a finance office, told her family that she had uncovered some information that would upset other military officials.

"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 light-hearted way, 'If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,'" Durkin's older sister, Fiona Canavan, told The Patriot Ledger. "But at the time we thought it was said more as a joke."

Durkin died last Friday of a single gun-shot wound, but the Army has not said whether a weapon was found near her body. The Defense Department says it is investigating the incident, according to reports.

The family told Television interviewers that they didn't believe Durkin killed herself because she seemed upbeat on a recent trip home. Only hours before her death, Durkin left her brother a cheerful voicemail and sang happy birthday to him, the family told ABC News.

“(The military) is definitely holding back,” Canavan told the Boston Herald. “As to why we can only speculate.”

[24KT]

Does HH6 have an alibi?

[militarymuscle69]

"Durkin left her brother a cheerful voicemail and sang happy birthday to him"

suicide....

[headhuntersix]

I read the original articles from the Herald earlier in the week. She was a Finance clerk and did not go outside the wire. She doesn't have access to anything secret...she could not have seen that would make folks want to kill her, atleast in my opinion. She was openly gay whn not in the military, not sure how that works. I suspect she may have committed suicide. Bagram is extremely secure...rounds are not readily available and eveything is accounted for....a single gunshot would have everybody running...its very unlikely it was murder.

[militarymuscle69]

I read the original articles from the Herald earlier in the week. She was a Finance clerk and did not go outside the wire. She doesn't have access to anything secret...she could not have seen that would make folks want to kill her, atleast in my opinion. She was openly gay whn not in the military, not sure how that works. I suspect she may have committed suicide. Bagram is extremely secure...rounds are not readily available and eveything is accounted for....a single gunshot would have everybody running...its very unlikely it was murder.

Very true, been to Bagram, and if anyone had a spare round it wouldn't be hard to figure out who. Of course it was probably Bush....

[headhuntersix]

I feel bad for the family. There are alot of mundane elements to this story that trying to explain to a non military person why its sounds more like a suicide might be kind of hard. But, just like any organization...especiall y one where u work very closely with someone, u might know if they're gay. If thats true, her chain of command needed to step in. Even if they felt she was a good soldier, they needed to document any evidence, talk to JAG, chaplian etc...just to cover their ass. They didn't neccesarilly need to try and kick her out. If she was killed by fellow soldiers, they're screwed. IOf she shot herself, especially if being gay had anything to do with it, they're scewed. The family is owed an answer.

[rockyfortune]

why does a single GSW to the head mean murder? 

[headhuntersix]

Thank u.....Rocky u were in...what do u think. I can tell u, unless we are talking very bizarre circumstance occured, there was very little she could see or uncover that would let her get murdered. If she say curruption, she could go to the 82nd's IG (they run Afghanistan this year) They are way outside her chain of command and would have immediatly done something. She has no access to the SOF guys at all. They have huge and I mean huge barriers up on one end of the flightline that won't even allow u to see the AC-130's (no idea why) the predator hanger or the CIA planes. I think its suicide.

[rockyfortune]

i'm not convinced a finance clerk from the mass nat'l guard was able to uncover mass corruption--just because someone appears cheerful on the outside doesn't mean they aren't hurting on the inside..a single gsw to head sounds like suicide to me--jesus..does every bad thing that goes on over there have to be turned into some government sponsored cover up?  get real here...the military doesn't have to murder people to keep people quiet...if that was the case they'd have no witnesses to the whole pat tillman thing...

[headhuntersix]

Thank u.....she called her famliy/sister or something just before she died and they said she sounded happy. Why, maybe because she had decided to kill herself. Suicide cases are generally happiest just before they kill themsleves. God knows I've sat through enough suicide prevention classes. They feel better because the weight if off them. Whatever was bothering them isn't such a big deal. Same deal as wehn they kill themselves...Spring, why...holidays are over ...maybe more alone...etc etc. This isn't the movies...she couldn't have seen much, plus I'm sure she never went outside the wire. Even if she did, as a clerk, they'd let her do humanitarian visits, helping an orphange or something. They do that there to get folks outside the FOBs who generally don't get to go.

[headhuntersix]

Recognizing the Warning Signs
People who are considering suicide often display warning signs-sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. You should be especially alert for imminent warning signs, for example:
Talking about suicide or death
Giving direct verbal cues, such as "I wish I were dead" and "I'm going to end it all"
Giving less direct verbal cues, such as "What's the point of living?", "Soon you won't have to worry about me," and "Who cares if I'm dead, anyway?"
Isolating him- or herself from friends and family
Expressing the belief that life is meaningless or hopeless
Giving away cherished possessions
Exhibiting a sudden and unexplained improvement in mood after being depressed or withdrawn
Neglecting his or her appearance and hygiene
These signs are especially critical if the person has a history or current diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder or serious psychological problem, is abusing alcohol or other drugs, has attempted suicide in the past, or has had a suicide in his or her family. Young people who have experienced the suicide (or other violent or sudden death) of a friend, peer, or celebrity role model should also be taken very seriously if they display warning signs of suicide.

http://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/customized/clergy.asp#warningsigns

I think the folks at the Suicide prevention Resource center might know something.

But besides that..how many suicide prevention classes have u been through..I have to go every year assmonkey..every year for 15 fucking years..so shut the helll up dumbass.

[headhuntersix]

Ok now I guess ur suddenly  shrink right.  . People who are going to kill themsleves, and have a long pattern of depression, often feel happier just before killing themselves. I found 9 billion articles saying the same thing. The news article painted a classic pattern of suicide that we've seen in the military.