IN THE CASE OF:	  

	BOARD DATE:	  15 July 2008

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080010452 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant, as the spouse of the deceased former service member (FSM), requests reconsideration of an earlier appeal that the FSM be determined to have died from toxins contracted during his deployment to Afghanistan and that she, as his beneficiary, be deemed eligible to receive the Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) benefit. 

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she is submitting new information regarding the sudden death of her husband along with other servicemen and women who served time in Iraq and Afghanistan who returned home and died from a form of bacteria called "Acinetobacter Baumannii."  The applicant further states that the deadly bacteria lie dormant and attack the body's main organs, causing them to shut down.  The FSM's autopsy report shows that he died from multi-organ failure. 

3.  The applicant states that although her husband's cause of death was determined to be Myocarditis, she feels that Acinetobacter Baumannii certainly had to be the cause of her husband's having multi-organ failure.  She continues that there are many servicemen and women who are currently fighting the deadly bacteria or have actually died from it, including two Soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina who died from the same symptoms as her husband.  

4.  The applicant states that she is disappointed the U.S. Military and Government are down playing these sudden deaths.  Her husband and many others have died suddenly from this deadly bacteria and not one of them received any recognition for their dedicated service to this country.
5.  The applicant provides a undated 14-page internet article titled "Acinetobacter baumannii in Iraq (Casualties of Acinetobacter baumannii)"; a 2-page Homeland Security Insight & Analysis internet article titled "Infection Crisis in Iraq Spotlights US Problem During Emergency," dated 22 February 2008; a 2-page Right Truth internet article titled "Acinetobacter Baumannii - Battlefield Insurgency," dated 
25 February 2008; a letter from her Congressional Representative, dated 
25 June 2008; a letter to her Congressional Representative, dated 26 February 2008; and a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, dated 14 January 2008. 

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20060017056, on 5 June 2007.

2.  The FSM was a career noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).  His unit was mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from August 2003 to May 2004.  He received medical attention on 23 September 2003 for vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea.  A stool specimen was tested with negative results.   

3.  The unit returned to the United States and demobilized.  On Sunday,
13 February 2005, the FSM attended his unit's USAR training assembly at their local rifle firing range.  He was feeling ill when he returned home.  His wife returned from church to find him slumped over a kitchen counter and largely unresponsive.  She called the emergency medical service, and the FSM was transported to the hospital emergency room.  

4.  There he exhibited chills, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea, and also sub-sternum chest pain.  He was admitted to the intensive care unit.  Extensive emergency procedures normally associated with "heart attack" were unsuccessful.  He died at approximately 0600 hours on 14 February 2005 at the age of 37.

5.  An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Chapel Hill, North Carolina established the cause of death as "acute myocarditis."   A lung tissue culture grew "Influenza A H3N2/Wyoming."  The medical examiner 
opined, "the cause of death in this case was due to acute myocarditis (inflammation of the middle muscular layer of the heart wall) most 
probably as a complication of Influenza infection.”  There is no medical evidence in the FSM's records that shows he was infected with acinetobacter baumannii or that acinetobacter baumannii was the cause of his death.  

6.  The applicant provides a 14-page internet article titled "Acinetobacter baumannii in Iraq Casualties (The Casualties of Acinetobacter baumannii)” that states, "Acinetobacter infections are not required to be reported.  These names and stories are collected from local news articles and researched.  Many Soldiers and contractors were infected nosocomially (in the hospital) after being very seriously wounded.   In some cases the infection may have caused the death.  In other cases the infection and its treatment with toxic drugs may have contributed to the death by wearing the body down.  Other Soldiers and civilians have survived acinetobacter infections but lost limbs that might otherwise have been saved, suffered permanent hearing and equilibrium damage, suffered liver and/or kidney damage, and endured prolonged recovery times.  Think of it as undergoing chemotherapy to stop a cancer on top of already suffering from serious injuries."  

7.  The applicant provides a 2-page Homeland Security Insight & Analysis internet article titled "Infection Crisis in Iraq Spotlights US Problem During Emergency," dated 22 February 2008.  The article states, "antibiotic-resistant bacteria make its way from terror war."  

8.  The applicant provides a 2-page Right Truth internet article titled "Acinetobacter Baumannii - Battlefield Insurgency," dated 25 February 2008.
The article states, "Its natural bio-terroism.  But it is clear that this threat, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, is making its way home from the battlefields of the War on Terror.  It has long been known that during a National health crisis, the potential for additional deaths due to antibiotic-resistant hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) running rampant could become a serious problem.  It is a concern shared by many in the disaster response and medical responder communities.  Now, we face the problem in frontline battlefield hospitals, and its coming home."  The article continues the outbreak appears to have started during the care of patients in combat support hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The article further states from March 2003 to March 2005 acinetobacter infections attacked more than 250 patients at U.S. military healthcare facilities.  Two key issues seem behind the persistence of the outbreak.  A number of infectious disease specialists point to difficulties in completely ridding hospital environments of acinetobacter.  Doing so, they say, requires more stringent cleaning than that typically sufficient to kill other bacteria.  Additionally, several express concern that policies on antibiotic use differ at commands and hospitals along the casualty evacuation chain.

9.  Public Law 109-13 (The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005), signed by the President on May 11, 2005, established the TSGLI program.  U.S. Army Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) has been designated as the lead agent for implementing the Army TSGLI program.  The TSGLI program was established by Congress to provide relief to Soldiers and their families after suffering a traumatic injury.  TSGLI provides between $25,000 and $100,000 to severely injured Soldiers who meet the requisite qualifications set forth by the Department of Defense.  As of 1 December 2005, TSGLI is included as part of a Soldier's SGLI coverage.  There is a retroactive program, in which Soldiers who incurred a qualifying traumatic injury from 7 October 2001 through 30 November 2005, while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom or under orders in a Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE) area are covered regardless of whether they elected SGLI coverage or not.  Soldiers who elect SGLI coverage and incur a qualifying traumatic injury after 1 December 2005 (with the exception of some specific circumstances under which a traumatic injury will not be covered), regardless of their component (Active, Reserve, or National Guard) or the location in which they incurred the injury will be covered by TSGLI. 

10.  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a TSGLI Schedule of Payments for Traumatic Losses.  There are some specific circumstances under which a traumatic injury will not be covered by TSGLI.  A qualifying traumatic injury is an injury or loss caused by application of external force or violence (a traumatic event) or a condition whose cause can be directly linked to a traumatic event.  Traumatic injuries covered may include, but are not limited to the following types of losses:

	a.  total and permanent loss of sight in one or both eyes;

	b.  loss of hand or foot by severance at or above the wrist or ankle; 

	c.  total and permanent loss of hearing in one or both ears;

	d.  loss of speech;

	e.  loss of thumb and index finger of the same hand by severance at or above the metacarpophalandeal joints;

	f.  quadriplegia, paraplegia or hemiplegia;

	g.  3rd degree or worse burns covering 30 percent of body or 30 percent of the face;
	h.  coma or traumatic brain injury; or

	i.  other traumatic injuries resulting in the inability to carry out two of the six activities of daily living (ADLs), which are dressing, bathing, toileting, eating, continence, and transferring.  There are other qualifying losses as a direct result of injuries listed on the TSGLI Schedule.  

11.  The TSGLI Schedule does not list any diseases or illnesses as a traumatic injury qualifying for TSGLI.  TSGLI may be paid for the inability to carry out activities of daily living due to loss directly resulting from a traumatic injury other than an injury to the brain.  The first payment of $25,000 would be made at the 30th consecutive day of the inability to carry out activities of daily living.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence of record shows that the FSM died due to acute myocarditis, which is a disease and not an injury qualifying for award of TSGLI benefits.  The internet articles provided by the applicant show that the FSM may have been infected with the acinetobacter baumannii disease.  Unfortunately, acinetobacter baumannii infection is not one of the traumatic losses listed as a condition that qualifies for TSGLI, either.  Even if there could be a way to link the FSM’s acinetobacter baumanni infection with an injury he received in Afghanistan,      the FSM did not survive for the period of time and under the conditions             (30 consecutive days of being unable to carry out activities of daily living) that would have authorized payment of the SGLI.   

2.  Regrettably in the absence of military records which show the FSM incurred a qualifying traumatic injury, there is an insufficient basis for award of TSGLI benefits in this case.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__xx____  ___xx __  ___xx __  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20060017056, dated 5 June 2007.




      ____xxxxxx__   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080010452



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080010452



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